


The Scientist and the Merman

by IceK7



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Explicit Language, Fantasy, Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Sex, M/M, Merpeople, Science Fiction, YuriYuu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-10-18 12:37:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 51,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10617084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceK7/pseuds/IceK7
Summary: While vacationing in Europe with his family as a boy, an event changes the entire trajectory of Yuuri Katsuki's life. Instead of chasing the shadow of Viktor Nikiforov, he's replaced his skates with diving equipment, and is following the memory of the green-eyed blond boy who disappeared in the sea.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I’m going to take a completely different approach with this story. Usually, when starting a new story, you plan for an intro, a conflict, and a resolution. In contrast, this story will focus almost exclusively on the interaction between Yuri and Yuuri as they get to know each other and grow closer. Of course I will set the stage to bring them together in the first place, which is what this chapter is for, but there will be no singular conflict or resolution. The relationship between a merman and a human is conflict enough. Mostly, this story will look in on what kinds of things these two creatures would say and do with one another if they ever met. This style of storytelling is also nice for the writer because each chapter is self-contained, so you can stop writing and call it complete at any point. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. ^_^

“Katsuki, everything is set. We’re ready when you are,” a redheaded man nearly twenty years Yuuri’s senior stated. Though Yuuri was the youngest person on the ship, he was the most skilled diver and the one in charge of the whole operation.

 

“Thanks Andrey. I’m heading down now,” Yuuri said after letting out a sigh. Carefully, he checked his gear once more, readjusted a few straps, and then hit the water. No matter how many dives he took, he always had to wage a war against his nerves. While other divers were practically vibrating with excitement before descent, he was always busy trying to keep himself from having a panic attack. To be fair, his relationship with the sea didn’t begin on the best note.

 

In the summer of Yuuri’s first year of junior high, the Katsuki family decided to take a three-week vacation abroad. After spending a year mulling it offer, Mari had not only decided not to go to college, but to stay and assist with the family business. Without having to pay for tuition or an extra hand, the Katsuki found themselves with a surplus of nearly forty thousand dollars. This led to discussions on expanding the hotsprings into a full spa, which made Sweden the most attractive destination.

 

While Hiroko and Toshia were thrilled about taking notes on authentic Swedish spas and Mari was thrilled about the men she would be encountering, Yuuri was a bit put out because he had been campaigning hard for Russia. Just a few months prior, Viktor Nikiforov had taken the figure skating world by storm with his junior world championship win, and the prospect of accidentally running into his idol while out and about filled Yuuri with more excitement than he could bear. But, stupid Sweden won the vote, so that dream was short lived. The best he could do was convince his parents to take a cruise that included a stop in St. Petersburg. At least he would then get to breathe the same air and see the same sights as his idol.

 

As the ship sailed from Copenhagen, Denmark to Berlin to Tallinn, Yuuri was literally bouncing off the walls in excitement. After watching him “air skate” around the room for three days, Mari was ready to throw him overboard. Luckily for him, they arrived in St. Petersburg on the fourth day.

 

“There’s so much to see! First we need to head to the Hermitage, then we can visit some other museums before heading to Nevsky Prospekt. After that we can-”

 

“Yuuri, we’re only going to be here for thirty-two hours, not thirty-two days, and I plan on sleeping for some of those,” Mari said, causing her brother’s grin to fade. Hiroko pulled the boy against her to provide comfort, while Toshia decided to reign his family in.

 

“While Mari’s right that we don’t have an awful lot of time here, I certainly see no reason why we can’t fit in as much as possible,” he said, and Yuuri’s whole spirit lit up. All Mari could do was sigh as she was drug from site to site. They disembarked at nine o’clock in the morning, and didn’t return until seven thirty in the evening. The adults were practically crawling back to their rooms, but Yuuri was still too excited to be contained in four walls.

 

“Mom, Dad, can I stay out a little longer? I promise I won’t go far. I won’t even leave the beach,” he said, and Hiroko was openly uncomfortable with the idea. She turned to Mari to see if she could rope her daughter into playing guardian, but the girl looked downright murderous. Toshia had to come to the rescue again.

 

“You can stay out here as long as you don’t go past that dock. I also expect you back inside by eight thirty and not a minute later,” he said, and Yuuri was almost happy enough to hug him. Instead, he nodded and then took off down the shore. There was a spot without a crowd that had his name on it.

 

‘Solitude!’ He thought as he fell back onto the sand and watched the stars as waves crashed all around him. All day he had wanted to expose his inner fanboy, but people were around and looking. They wouldn’t understand what it was like for him to be in the same place as his idol. This was the place all the magic happened.

 

‘I wonder what Viktor is doing right now?’ He thought as he counted the stars and found random shapes in them. Somehow, he was able to make out a bear, a skate and an elf of all things.

 

‘Hmm, what on Earth is that? Maybe if I connect that one to that one over there, and then-’

 

“Мама! Папа!”

 

The frantic screams of what sounded to be a young child snapped Yuuri out of his thoughts. He swiftly looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a tiny head peer over the waterline before it disappeared again. It then popped back up, before dipping below again.

 

‘There’s no way!’ Yuuri thought, before he jumped up completely.

 

“Help! Somebody help!” Yuuri yelled, but that area of the beach was just as devoid of people as when he sat down. For a moment, he considered searching for a lifeguard, but he just knew that by the time he found one the kid would be gone. He was surprised he wasn’t already gone; he was clearly only a toddler. He would have no choice but to go in himself.

 

While Yuuri wasn’t the best swimmer, he was better than most kids his age due to his mandatory training. For as long as he could remember, he carried a bit more weight than others. Around the age of eight, however, his metabolism really took a nosedive and he became as wide as he was tall even though his diet hadn’t changed. This greatly impacted his ballet training, not to mention his figure skating hobby, but there weren’t a whole lot of options to trim weight off a pre-adolescent boy. Weights were absolutely off the table, and too much cardio could strain his developing muscles. This led to hours upon hours of swim training. He always looked at his time in the water as a necessary evil, but if his lessons allowed him to save that kid, he would gladly double his time in the pool.

 

‘Please, hang on just a little longer! I’m coming!’ Yuuri thought as he dived in, and swam as fast as he could. He didn’t realize it on shore, but that kid was _way_ out there.

 

‘How is this possible? Did he fall off a boat or something?’ Yuuri thought as he fought the increasingly powerful waves. It seemed like the more he swam, the further the kid got. Yuuri didn’t know what to do. He was getting tired, but turning back meant dooming that little boy.

 

‘I can’t give up, not yet,’ he thought, and miraculously, the boy popped up right in front of him. Clearly, his presence wasn’t noticed as the boy was facing away from him frantically looking across the water in all directions. Yuuri only managed to snap out of his stupor when the blond head started dipping below the surface. Instantly, Yuuri wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. Like trying to contain an explosion, the boy thrashed wildly in his arms, keening and scratching with all his might.

 

“Hey! Hey! Calm down! It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re going to be alright now,” Yuuri said as he winced from the salt stinging his wounds. He felt silly trying to talk a boy down using a language he clearly didn’t understand, but if he didn’t get control of him, they were both going to drown.

 

“Shh, it’s okay. I’m here to save you. You’re going to be alright, I promise,” he said gently as he pulled the boy closer to his chest. Almost as if frozen in fear, the boy abruptly stopped moving, and then slowly turned around in Yuuri’s arms. Yuuri looked down and was met with wide, green, tear-filled eyes. He wanted to comfort the boy, but his hands were kind of full at the moment. So, he bent his neck and kissed the boy on the forehead. Immediately, the boy tilted his head to the side as if he was beyond puzzled. A second later, however, he held open his arms and closed them around Yuuri as best as he could, which was only half of him. That was due more to the boy’s size than Yuuri’s. He then closed his eyes in exhaustion. Momentarily, Yuuri worried about having to carry deadweight, but somehow, even while sleeping the boy seemed to be carrying his own weight. It was puzzling, but Yuuri wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He needed to get to shore immediately.

 

‘Maybe I should have listened to Mari about taking it easy. It’ll be just my luck to die because I got too exuberant while on vacation,’ he thought as dots started looking humanoid again.

 

‘We’re going to make it,’ he thought in triumph. Before he could even punctuate that thought something snatched the boy from his arms, and then doubled back and crashed into his chest. One moment he was swimming towards shore, the next he was rapidly headed towards the sea floor. Even worse, when he was hit it expelled all the air from his lungs, and he was rapidly taking in seawater.

 

‘What just happened? Is this it? Am I going to die here?’ Yuuri thought as black started clouding his vision. The last thing he saw was a long thick tail with twin fins.

 

‘There aren’t supposed to be sharks in this sea,’ was Yuuri’s final thought as his consciousness faded.

 

~

 

“Yuuri! Come on, wake up! Yuuri!” He heard Mari scream. When he opened his eyes, he saw his sister’s worried face on one side, while his parents were on the other. Both were openly concerned, but tears poured from his mother’s eyes. In the distance, he could see police and medics standing by. That is what fully brought him out of it.

 

“Where is he?! Did they save him?” He asked as he sat up, and his arms nearly buckled under him. They weren’t just tired, they were on fire. He looked down and saw bloody gashes that almost went to the bone in some places. It matched the coppery taste that filled his mouth.

 

“Who is it that we should have saved? Was there someone else out there with you?” A tall, broad chested man said in heavily accented Japanese. The question made Yuuri’s heart sink.

 

“So, you didn’t get him?! I have to go back out there!” He said as he tried to dart back in the water. Sluggish and injured, Mari was able to quickly restrain him.

 

“Yuuri, let the professionals handle this. You need to tell them everything that happened so they can save whoever else is out there,” she said, and that’s what Yuuri did. He told them everything from the drowning toddler, the sudden attack, and the massive caudal fin he saw. The beach was immediately shut down, and teams went out searching for a body at this point. The search was not given up until well after midnight. The Katsuki family was informed that everyone on the cruise was accounted for, and no one on shore had reported anyone missing. It was also decided that the apparition of a child was likely caused by delirium from water intoxication. Restricting his fluids should return him to normal, they said. Yuuri was inconsolable.

 

“I know what I saw! How can I hallucinate from water intake when I didn’t take in any until I got in the water to save the kid?” He asked, and in so many words it was suggested that his memory may have been affected from his ordeal. His arms had stitches flowing up and down them like the lines on a baseball, yet no one, including Yuuri, could explain where the slices had come from. No toddler could leave marks like that no matter how scared they were, and if it had been a sea predator, he would be missing the limb all together. Perhaps he self injured in order to get attention, they suggested.

 

“Mari, I’m telling you, he was there. I promised him that I would save him, but now…” Yuuri said, before bursting into tears. Mari quickly pulled her brother into a hug.

 

“It’s okay, Yuuri. We believe you,” she said in honesty. No member of the Katsuki family believed that this was some elaborate cry for help. They weren’t sure how everything originally played out, but he clearly saw someone or something out there. The sad part was all four of them understood what that meant. Whoever was out there was gone now.

 

The next day an announcement was made to “remind” parents that minor children should remain with them at all times, and business went on as usual besides a few furtive glances towards the Katsuki suite. Fortunately, no member of the family saw those looks because they all decided to stay in and take care of Yuuri, who was still crying beneath his covers. The family didn’t emerge until they set sail from St. Petersburg nearly nine hours later. Yuuri remained in bed, however. Even when they reached Helsinki and Stockholm, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had just witnessed someone die, and was powerless to stop it.

 

‘Minako, I’ve finally made a decision,’ he thought as they returned to Copenhagen. Before they left on the trip, his ballet teacher had instructed him to fully commit to either ballet or figure skating, and he was almost positive he was going to choose figure skating. Had anyone checked, that would have been his answer right up until he heard frantic screams coming from the Baltic Sea. Now, his focus had shifted completely. He was going to take up diving. Never again will he allow the sea to claim someone right before his eyes again. He was going to be equipped to fight back.

 

The moment Yuuri returned to Japan, he enrolled in a diving course and acquired his junior open water diver certification in less than a month, and then the advanced certification right before his thirteenth birthday. In the past, swimming was his method to stay in shape for ballet, now ballet assisted him in staying agile for diving. Figure skating, unfortunately, fell by the wayside. He was a boy on a mission.

 

On his fifteenth birthday, Yuuri began technical dive training, pushing himself as hard and as fast as he could. Partially stalled due to legalities, he packed as much of his time with fine tuning his knowledge and self-teaching himself the Russian language. He didn’t want to dive just anywhere; he wanted to return to the Baltic Sea, his nemesis.

 

By the time he turned eighteen, his level of fluency in the Russian language allowed him to apply to any college in the country he wanted to do. That in addition to his superior diving ability made him a top prospect for marine biology programs far and wide, which practically made him a shoo-in for his top choice: the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Moscow. Merely two months after finishing high school, he was on a plane headed to Russia’s capital.

 

For the next four years, Yuuri progressed in his diving abilities just as fast as he progressed in his studies. By the time he was slated to graduate, there were hardly any systems you could put in front of him that he wasn’t trained on. His knowledge on both the diving and academic sides of the field made him nearly invaluable to his research mentor, so the man practically begged him to stay on as a graduate student. Yuuri agreed on one condition, he wanted to focus his work on the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland in particular. This is how he wound up “stationed” in St. Petersburg with his own personal crew of eight.

 

‘I must be some kind of masochist,’ Yuuri thought as he quickly descended. Not only did he return to the site of his trauma, he focused his work around it, which almost insured he could never leave. Add that to the fact that he was the only person on board who was qualified to reach the bottom, and he was basically certifiable.

 

‘Stop that. There’s no point in thinking like that. I need to collect some samples from the cave just south of that bend… I should probably get my camera ready, too,’ Yuri thought as he recalled the numerous cetacean sightings that had been reported. The time he forgot his camera and just happened to swim right by an obviously displaced orca, his advisor almost killed him.

 

‘It should be right up ahead, but I don’t remember… this, at all,’ Yuuri thought as he approached what appeared to be some weird species of coral that he’d never seen in his life. ‘Maybe Dr. Kozlov will know what this is.’

 

With that thought, he snapped the picture. Due to a setting being placed too high, a blinding flash emitted from the bulb, and the mass of coral jerked. When it did, sharp ridges sliced into Yuuri’s leg, and all hell broke loose. What had appeared to be rocks, flicked, revealing themselves to be a set of eyes, and the mass lifted off the seafloor. Designed almost like a stingray, the creature's mouth was beneath it, but it didn’t appear to be smiling. Row upon row upon row of teeth were revealed as its mouth stretched open wide enough to engulf Yuuri whole.

 

‘What in the hell is that?’ He thought as he darted away as quickly as he could. That exposed another important detail, the thing was fast! People often joked about wishing for the floor to swallow them up, but they clearly had no clue how scary that prospect truly is.

 

Left, right, up, down, over, under, no matter which way he turned, he couldn’t lose whatever the thing was. Without the weight of the diving gear he was sure he could, but he was as good as dead without that anyway. No option seemed to be viable.

 

‘How much distance have I put between us?’ Yuuri thought as he looked behind him. Big mistake. It was practically on top of him with its mouth open wide. If he hadn’t looked back, he would have been swallowed without knowing what hit him. Now, he could only watch as the thing closed in.

 

‘Is this really it?’ He thought as he shut his eyes tightly. He then felt a wave of vibrations, and a burst of energy. He opened his eyes just in time to see the thing get practically knocked through the water. In its place was a person that wasn’t quite a person at all.

 

‘Okay, what the hell is that?’ Yuuri thought as he took in the humanoid creature. From what he could make out beneath the billowing pale hair, the top half was definitely human-like besides a few extras here and there. The bottom half, however, was not right. It looked like the lower half of a dolphin, a dolphin with iridescent skin.

 

‘There must be something wrong with my gear. I’m hallucinating,’ Yuuri thought as he made a move to check his systems. Before he could, he felt another vibration, and this time it was clear it came from the humanoid creature. He then felt a vibration come from the rock best.

 

‘Are they echolocating?!’ He thought, before the humanoid darted forward, spun almost into a ball, and then hit the side of the beast at full force. The beast hit the seafloor with his underside exposed, making a great impact. The humanoid was on him instantly. Only then did Yuuri notice that the boy(?) had web-like attachments between his fingers and his “fingernails” were conical and as long as his fingers. By the way they tore into the thing’s underside, they were sharp! His teeth were as well if how he bit into that tough flesh was anything to go by.

 

‘I should really be going, now,’ Yuuri thought as he jerked back, making more blood pour out of his wound. The boy instantly whipped around, causing the string of blood that was in his mouth to color the water. That paired with pointy teeth and glowing green eyes was all Yuuri could take.

 

‘I can’t breath!’ He thought, as he glanced at his equipment. It seemed to be working just fine. ‘The problem is me; I’m having a panic attack. I’m having a panic attack fifty-five meters below the surface. Shit!’

 

~

 

“Not again,” Yuuri mumbled as he opened his eyes and found himself _not_ in water once again. He would have groaned for good measure, but he quickly realized the mass above him was not sky or even a drywall ceiling. It was rock covered in various sea plants. The water sloshing next to his rock perch also hammered it home that he was not on shore, even though his gear had been removed and… stacked neatly in the corner.

 

“It’s about time you woke up,” a voice said, and Yuuri almost knocked himself back out in trying to sit up. He could have sworn he heard someone mumble _idiot_ , but he was too busy stopping the sloshing feeling in his head. Once he did, he turned in the direction the voice came from, and saw the humanoid sitting on the outcropping with his back against the wall and his… fins in the water. Yuuri immediately looked at the boy’s hands, but his nails appeared to be significantly shorter, only a couple inches instead of nearly half a foot.

 

“I always wondered what happened to you,” the boy said, and Yuuri looked up into his face. There was no mistaking it; he was the boy in the sea all those years ago.

 

“What are you?” Yuuri asked as he moved back a bit. The boy looked at him a moment, and then returned his gaze back to the water.

 

“You wouldn’t be able to pronounce it even if you tried. I’m sure your kind has come up with something anyway. Take your pick,” he said, and Yuuri remained quiet. He knew exactly what “his” kind called these creatures, but if he said it out loud, it would make it real. He wasn’t ready for that. Instead he switched the subject all together.

 

“What was thing that attacked me?” He asked. Briefly, anger flashed across the merman’s face.

 

“Another creature whose name you wouldn’t be able to pronounce. My kind and theirs are mortal enemies. They are the hunters and we are the hunted. They specialize in killing and eating us. For one to go after a human means that it was either crazed or exceptionally hungry,” he said, and Yuuri blanched.

 

“Great!” He said sarcastically, and the boy smirked.

 

“You don’t seem to have much luck with the sea,” he said, and after seeing the haunted look in Yuuri’s eyes, he looked away.

 

“Eleven years ago, my mother took me to the surface to see the lights humans sometimes shoot into the sky. My father received word of it, and tried to intervene. The issue was not his concern for my safety, but his desire to control my mother through me. They had separated before I was born, and they battled every time they were near one another.

 

“That night, they argued and my father slapped her, causing her face to bleed slightly. That was more than enough to call those creatures to our location. Two of them showed up, and my mother was gone in seconds. My father tried to move me away as quickly as possible, but they were hunting in teams. So, in order to save me, he swam several hundred meters away and then sliced open his own skin. I was too young and dumb to know what was going on. If you hadn’t swam out to me, they would have come for me, too,” the boy said, calmly looking out into nothing. Yuuri didn’t quite know how to take that in. On one side he was relieved that a kid hadn’t in fact drowned in front of him, but this was no better.

 

“My grandfather sends his apologies, by the way. He was trying to protect me, and didn’t know your intentions,” the boy added after a moment. At first Yuuri was confused, then he remembered the feel of someone snatching the child from his arms. He also remembered the blow he took afterward.

 

“Oh,” was all he could say. The merman glanced over at him, seemingly taking in his arms, and then looked at bit downcast.

 

“You have my apologies as well,” he said. Yuuri looked down at his arms, only then remembering the lines upon lines of healed scars. In a way, they had marked a new direction in his life, so they didn’t bother him anymore. They were just a part of who he was.

 

“Anyway, you saved my life, and now I have saved yours. Let’s call it even. I’ve stitched your wound, so you shouldn’t have any more issues. Your ship is about a kilometer north of here,” the boy said and then slid into the water.

 

“Wait!” Yuuri yelled. At the very least he had wanted to get the boy’s name, but he was already long gone.

 

‘What kind of scientist am I?! I had a mythical creature before me, and all I did was gape at him. This can’t be it!’ Yuuri thought as he redressed, and began his slow ascent. Within three days, he was back in the water, searching for the boy. He visited grottos, caves, kicked a few things that could have been rock creatures, and everything in between. He then got the bright idea to see if his blood could do the trick. Everything else seemed to react to blood, so it was worth a try. He didn’t want the wrong thing to show up, however, so he found another underwater cave with an air pocket, and sliced his finger. After allowing a few drops of his blood to hit the water, a blonde head popped up in less than four minutes. It was quite remarkable watching that face shift from concerned to annoyed in 1.5 seconds.

 

With lots of prodding, diligence and chasing, in two weeks time Yuuri was able to divulge that the boy’s human name was Yuri, but his friends called him Yura or the occasional Yurochka; Russian was not his native language, but the language that the merfolk in the area are forced to learn in case they come in contact with a human or want to communicate above water; he could be bribed with any and all kinds of food; and most importantly, he could be a bit of an ass. Most people think of the Little Mermaid when they think of sea people, but he was definitely not Ariel. Still, Yuuri felt drawn to the boy in ways he couldn’t describe. He felt like his whole life had been leading him up to this point, yet he had no clue where it would go from here. What happens when a human and a merman become a part of each other’s lives?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I finished this background piece! Without this initial chapter, it would be just two random creatures conversing that no one knows or cares about. With this out of the way, I can start getting to the juicy stuff.


	2. Interview with the Merman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Yuri finally get to have a full discussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prologue will be the longest chapter of this story. It had to be in order to get all of the details in. All other chapters will be around this length.
> 
> Also, note that I switch between metric and imperial. I am American and we use the imperial system, so all narration bits will use the imperial system. Dialogue will use metric. It just seems right; no one else uses our fucked up system.

“Okay, here goes nothing,” Yuuri mumbled to himself as looked forlornly at his tiny canoe, his last connection to dry land. He then inhaled deeply before diving into the misleadingly placid sea. Diving always made him anxious, but this was record breaking anxiety. To hell with through the roof; it was through the stratosphere!

 

It had been roughly a month since he had reconnected with Yuri in grandiose fashion, and for the first few weeks of that Yuuri was positive that he had annoyed the hell out of the merman with his barrage of questions. He was even irritating himself, so he could only imagine what Yuri was feeling. That’s why it caught him completely off guard when the boy not only hung around, but actually requested his presence.

 

_“I need to head back. It’ll look suspicious if I stay down here for too long; I’ve already gotten some strange looks when my air tanks weren’t as depleted as they should be. Thanks for putting up with me,” Yuuri said as he gave a head nod as best he could without dipping his nose in the water. The air pocket was just big enough for him to avoid mouthfuls of seawater, and he had practically forced the merman to remain in the confined space with him as he peppered him with questions. His mother would be so ashamed._

 

_“Thanks again. I promise I won’t be such a pain the next time we meet,” Yuuri added, mentally telling himself that he would stay away for at least a week. He put his gear in place, just about to submerge, but was stopped by a firm grip on his bicep._

 

_“Two days from now, meet me roughly seven hundred meters west of that giant, stone structure. Make sure you get here before first light and come alone,” Yuri stated as though he was irritated. The slight blush and lack of eye contact, however, exposed his true feelings. His swift disappearance in the water before getting a response was revealing as well._

 

_‘Giant, stone structure?’ Yuuri thought, and then it clicked. ‘He’s talking about fort Rif. Alright, got it!’_

 

The “come alone” portion of Yuri’s _request_ made Yuuri a little apprehensive, but he understood the need for secrecy. One glimpse of a fin by his crew, and the shit would hit the fan. Plus, he had logged hundreds of hours diving independently, so it didn’t seem like too big of a request. At least that is what he thought when he first hit the water with his diving suit and air tanks in tow. Not only did he feel a series of angry vibrations swirling around him, he received a glare and a stern finger pointing towards the surface. He felt like he was being sent to his room.

 

‘What was that about? I came alone like he asked,’ Yuuri thought as he steadied himself next to his canoe. Only after practically playing charades with the submerged boy did he realize he was expected to leave his equipment behind, including his air tanks.

 

‘He wants me to freedive?!’ Yuuri thought, and immediately felt sick. He had done it before, but definitely not in the heart of the Gulf. Maximum depth in the area was at least a hundred feet, and while he could hold his breath for six to seven minutes under water, he wasn’t feeling up to re-testing his endurance. But, this was the first thing Yuri had asked of him, so he felt compelled to oblige, hence his current state of diving with only a mask to retain his vision.

 

‘Okay Yuuri, stay calm. There must be a reason for this,’ he told himself as he reached the sixty-feet below mark. His arm was then grabbed, nearly making him open his mouth in alarm, before he realized it was just Yuri pulling him along at breakneck speed. He felt like a dog with its head hanging out of a car window.

 

‘Please tell me that he knows the limits of a human,’ Yuuri thought as he started to feel the strain on his lungs. A second later he was in a cave at the bottom of the sea. A few winding turns and two archways later he was in a tunnel. A tunnel with air.

 

“Huh?” Yuuri exclaimed after he took in his fill of oxygen. Upon looking around he noticed that this wasn’t just some air pocket; he could pull his entire torso out of the water and still have a decent amount of headroom. Even more amazing, it appeared to be this way throughout the entire cave.

 

“Come on,” Yuri said, as he dipped back in the water, swarm down a diagonal hall, and then turned around a bend. Yuuri followed him as best as he could, but was too amazed to maintain focus. From floor to ceiling, the cave appeared to about twenty feet in height with water filling about twelve feet of that; jelly-like fluorescent plants covered the ceiling and side walls, giving the appearance the room was illuminated with rainbow-colored moonlight; and along each wall was a rock shelf that rose just slightly above the waterline.

 

“What is this place?” Yuuri asked in wonderment as Yuri pulled himself out of water and situated himself on the rock shelf. Yuuri quickly did the same.

 

“This is my house, and this in my room,” Yuri said casually. He then looked at Yuuri blankly. “You’re currently sitting on my bed, by the way. Welcome,” He added. Yuuri made a move to jump back in the water, but was stopped by a fierce tug.

 

“I didn’t say you had to get up, idiot,” Yuri said, then gave him a warning glare to stay put, before he released him. He then laid back on his arms, and stared at Yuuri expectantly.

 

“I knew my Grandfather wouldn’t be home today, so I invited you over. I figured if I was going to be interrogated, I better at least be comfortable while it’s happening. So, let’s get on with it,” he said, and Yuuri looked chagrined.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-” he started.

 

“Whatever,” Yuri cut him off. “If I was mad, you’d know about it. Ask away. I can practically hear you thinking.” Yuuri wanted to further deny, but damn it, he did have questions; the number one being this setup.

 

“What exactly is this place? Is it naturally formed? How is there so much breathable air this far under the sea? Are there more places like this? Do all mermaids live in whatever this is?” Yuuri spoke until he ran out of breath. Somehow he got all of that out without pausing.

 

“Ha! Called it,” Yuri said with a laugh, after he heard the mountain of questions. “This is what humans would probably call a sea cabin. It only has two sleeping quarters, a main area, four false quarters and thirteen tunnels. It’s small, but it’s big enough for two, which is all that my grandpa and I need. Sea houses are usually double that.”

 

“Double?! I know you called it small, but this would be huge by most people’s standards,” Yuuri said, and was met with a glare and quirked eyebrow. “Humans, I mean,” he quickly amended.

 

“Most of the areas are not and cannot be in use. It’s the only way to throw off the predators," Yuri said quickly, clearly irritated. “Don’t start adding more questions before I even answered the first ones. Do you want to hear this or not?”

 

“Oops! Okay, I’m done. I’ll shut up,” Yuuri quickly said, and his response was a sigh and head shake.

 

“Anyway, of course these structures aren’t naturally formed; there wouldn’t be enough air. We have to-”

 

“What do you mean there wouldn’t be enough air? Why would you care about something like that?” Yuuri cut in, before he could process that his lips were moving. At first Yuri was annoyed until he fully heard the inquiry.

 

“So that we can breathe?” He said slowly, and with incredulity lacing his voice. Yuuri was absolutely gobsmacked.

 

“You need air to breathe?!” He asked, and Yuri nearly jumped into a sitting position as his face screwed up, his arms open wide in question. He didn’t even need to voice it. His whole presence screamed, “What the fuck?” Yuuri felt compelled to quickly explain himself.

 

“It’s just that you live under water, so I assumed that you breathed in water!” He said, and Yuri’s level of incredulity increased exponentially.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be a scientist? Lots of creatures live under water that breathe air. You know, whales, dolphins, seals… any of those ring a bell?” Yuri said, and Yuuri colored slightly. As a scientist, he was supposed to question everything and assume nothing, but he had done just that. He had forgotten to do his due diligence for the sake of parsimony.

 

“Now, I’m curious,” Yuri cut into his thoughts. “Did you actually think we had gills, or some stupid shit like that? We aren’t fish, moron.”

 

‘They’re not fish,’ Yuuri thought as he forced himself to look hard at his assumptions, which mostly came from folklore. It then became obvious that, of course, it had been all wrong. No creature can be human at the top and magically fish at the bottom. Besides, even if it could be, that would still put lungs into play. ‘I’m an idiot,’ he concluded.

 

“If you breath air, how do you keep from inhaling water,” Yuuri finally asked.

 

“We hold our breath, of course,” Yuri said, and Yuuri narrowed his eyes, openly examining him.

 

“How can you do that without any gear? Whales and dolphins have blowholes.”

 

Yuri just tipped his head back, revealing his nostrils. In amazement, Yuuri watched as a flap of skin inside closed over the openings.

 

“Wow!” He exclaimed as his mind reeled. He then thought back to all of their interactions, and something didn’t add up. “Wait, I’ve seen you open your mouth, and even vocalize underwater. How?” He asked. Yuri just looked puzzled.

 

“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?” He asked before _his_ eyes widened in realization. “Wait, are you telling me that humans only have one passageway for their mouths and noses? What the hell happens if something gets stuck in your throat while you’re eating?”

 

“We choke until it either comes back up or we die,” Yuuri said plaintively. He was still trying to wrap his head around air breathing sea people with nose flaps and separate passageways for air inhalation and digestion. They may appear humanoid, but they were sounding more cetacean-like the more he heard.

 

“That really sucks,” Yuri said casually, clueless to the thoughts swirling in Yuuri’s head. While he thought their differences were interesting, Yuuri was practically in full scientist mode.

 

“Say something in your native tongue,” Yuuri said, seemingly out of nowhere.

 

“What?” Yuri asked, taken aback.

 

“Say something, anything in your native tongue. I want to confirm something.”

 

Yuuri was oddly persistent and focused, and the intensity intimidated Yuri a bit, though he’d die before he’d ever admit it. In fact, to hide the wayward emotion, Yuri dutifully complied even though he was highly confused. His vocalizations sounded like higher pitched, guttural orca sounds.

 

“Oh, holy hell,” Yuuri said as he placed his head in his hands. His brain was bombarded with thoughts of convergence, divergence and cladograms as he tried to figure it out. Yuri was just relieved to get that unwavering stare off him. Like a switch was turned on, they both returned to their standard dynamic.

 

“Do you want to know what I said?” Yuri asked with a shit-eating grin in place. Yuuri didn’t even bother to look up.

 

“Not at all,” he said. “How long can you hold your breath?”

 

“About an hour. Why?” Yuri asked.

 

“I’m just trying to make sense of this. We see whales and dolphins at the surface all the time, but never merfolk. Most humans don’t even know you exist. That’s why it just seemed logical that you breathed in water. Now that I know you don’t, I don’t get it. How have we never seen you?” Yuuri asked, finally looking up. Yuri pondered it a second, then just shrugged.

 

“We used to surface all the time like the whales and dolphins do, but more and more humans started taking interest in us. There were full expeditions at even the hint of a sighting, so my ancestors decided to move to deeper waters, which is when we started building the structures we’re in. It was a good call, too. The whales and dolphins didn’t take heed, and look at what happened to them,” Yuri said, and Yuuri couldn’t argue. As a marine biologist, he knew exactly what happened to the cetaceans even more than Yuri did.

 

“How is this even possible?” Yuuri asked as he waved a hand towards his environment. For once, Yuri looked contrite.

 

“That’s one question I can’t answer. If it ever got out, we’d be fucked,” he said, and Yuuri fully agreed.

 

“I completely understand. Forget I even asked,” he said, and received a tiny smile in response. Unlike the usual sarcastic smirks he saw, this one was genuine. It made him smile as well.

 

“So, what do you guys do for fun down here?” He asked as he laid back on the rock, getting comfortable. Yuri joined him, returning to his spot.

 

“Mostly exploring and catching up with family and friends. We don’t get together often because it almost always attracts predators, but we can communicate over long distances, so it’s all good,” Yuri said with a shrug. “What about you?” Yuuri almost answered personally, but paused. He really wasn’t a good representation for the human species. His truthful answer would practically be a lie if extrapolated to others.

 

“Hmmm... I don’t even know where to begin. We don’t have any natural predators and we’re not limited by air constraints, so the sky's the limit,” he said, before shaking his head. “Actually, even that isn’t true. We’ve exceeded the sky. A few people have walked on the moon.”

 

“What?! The moon?” Yuri exclaimed as his eyes widened and his mouth hung open. “How is that possible? How did you not only overcome gravity, but breach the sky?” For the first time since they’ve been meeting, Yuri was openly excited about something, and deep down Yuuri was pleased that he wasn’t the only one fascinated by the other.

 

“We use a specialized vehicle called a space shuttle,” Yuuri began, before waving off his own answer. “But that’s just the superficial answer. I’m actually uncertain of the mechanics and principles involved. Most people probably can’t answer that question because only a small fraction of us are in quantum physics or aerospace engineering.” He wasn’t sure if those terms meant anything to the merman, but it wouldn’t surprise him if they did. They were sitting in a specially designed, underground cabin filled with air having conversations about defying gravity and the sky. Clearly, merfolk were at least equally intelligent.

 

“Damn it, now I’m really curious,” Yuri said as he retreated into his thoughts. Unlike Yuuri who voiced his questions, Yuri pondered deeply with only his eyes giving him away. It reminded Yuuri of the time he first laid eyes on him.

 

“The next time I dive, I can bring you some books and pictures. If I air seal them, they should be protected,” Yuuri finally said, and those unveiled eyes turned to him. He was finally met with a full smile.

 

“Cool! I can get some stuff for you, too,” Yuri said, still smiling. For once, Yuuri didn’t feel apprehensive about his next dive. He was looking forward to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think? I'm still not completely satisfied with this chapter, but didn't want to agonize over it. I hope guys enjoy it!


	3. Ah, so that's how it works...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri finds out more about merman anatomy than he ever dreamed of.
> 
> This takes place roughly three weeks after the last chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, guys! Life has been insane. Hopefully, this chapter lives up to your expectations!

‘Would you shut up before somebody hears or sees you?!’ Yuuri thought as he glared at the merman excitedly making loud clicks and swimming in circles as he created bubble rings. Unfortunately, with his full gear on, the expression was lost. So, he just had to endure the merman’s “boasting” and hope that his crew stayed oblivious.

 

‘I regret telling him about my project. He’s going to get himself caught,’ Yuuri thought as he shook his head and collected the new batch of blood samples from Yuri. Yuuri’s advisor had created an enzyme that would hypothetically increase an animal’s ability to withstand higher salinity. With the Baltic Sea being stratified with freshwater at the surface and saltwater at the seafloor, many species were restricted to certain zones. With the enzyme supplied to the test population and organisms marked, it was now up to Yuuri to sample and recapture. The issue was finding particular individuals in a giant sea; it was not easy. But, if it could be pulled off, he and his advisor could easily get published in Nature and maybe even win a Nobel Prize. He told this to Yuri, and he quickly saw a side of him he didn’t know existed. The boy was competitive as hell. Just the mention of outdoing trained scholars made him want in on it even if he wouldn’t get officially recognized. This is what led to the exuberant display.

 

‘He was actually able to get samples from ninety-six marked fish. In the same length of time, I got eight. Even on my best day, I only got seventeen. I feel like such a fraud,’ Yuuri thought as he swam up to the surface. Once again his crew would be looking at him in awe and calling him “The Man” when he presented over a hundred samples. His advisor may even increase his stipend.

 

‘As much as I hate to admit it, he’s better at this than I am. This haul would have taken me all week. I’ve got to make it up to him. Maybe I should make him a pork cutlet bowl,’ Yuuri pondered as his brain skipped to the evening. After doing it a couple of times, Yuuri quickly came to the conclusion that it was far too dangerous for him to row out to sea, stay underwater for hours, and then randomly resurface. Someone was bound to notice him, especially during daylight. Therefore, they decided on Yuuri swimming out late in the evening, Yuri intercepting him and taking him under, and then returning him to land before the fishermen began their day. This paired with field work, and Yuuri was in or around water more than he was on dry land. After several weeks of this, most people would have grown tired of not being on a stable surface. Yuuri wasn’t most people.

 

‘I know, I’ll make pirozhki! After being in Russia for five years, I’ve finally perfected them. Plus, they’re easier to transport.’

 

~

 

“Okay, I think I finally get how they did it. My question is how do they stop reverse interception. If it’s common for mobile phones to be hacked individually, it goes without saying that the process could be reversed. I would think you would be able to broadcast the initial hacker’s information over the entire range of phones that were hacked. That’s one way to handle the issue of national or even international espionage, don’t you think?” Yuri said as he flipped through the last hundred pages of the telecommunications textbook. Yuuri just looked at him glassy-eyed. At first, he thought merpeople were just as smart as humans. Within a few days, he figured out he was very wrong; they weren’t just as smart, they were _more_ advanced. In four hours, Yuri had read his entire marine biology textbook, and understood it far better than he did and he was formally trained. It was shocking, but not too surprising because the guy was a merman. Then he did the same with textbooks in quantum mechanics, aerospace engineering, world history, thermodynamics, neuroscience and law. Yuuri thought that maybe he was some type of savant, but nope. By Yuri’s own admission, he was of normal intelligence. Of course that was amended to include that he was at genius level when it came to common sense. Yuuri was sure they had different standards for normal.

 

‘Why does he always ask for my input? I feel so judged,’ Yuuri thought as he recalled the last time he admitted not being up to snuff on electromagnetic field theory.

 

_“Seriously, you don’t get this? I mean, even though it’s different from anything I’ve ever learned about, it’s pretty straightforward. Any dumb ass should be able to pick this up.”_

 

‘I refuse to spend the rest of my evening feeling mentally challenged,’ Yuuri thought, before determination filled him.

 

“Hey! Pull your nose out of that book. You have plenty of time to read when I’m not here,” he said, before swiftly changing the subject. “What did you think of the pirozhkis? You never did tell me even though you ate all of them before I could get one.”

 

“Not true. I gave you a piece of the last one. Considering there were five, if you do the math, you got the same proportion of food to the amount of work you did today,” Yuri said as he closed the book and stared at Yuuri, daring him to disagree. Yuuri could only sigh.

 

“You’re never going to let that go are you?” He asked. Yuri just grinned viciously before flopping onto his back, matching Yuuri’s position. Outside of the one time they had met at Yuri’s house, this little cave that they first spoke in was their official meeting place. Yuri said that it was his childhood hideaway. Considering the crazy conversations they often had, Yuuri thought that title was fitting.

 

“I want to drive,” Yuri said randomly.

 

“I don’t think that’s going to work out for you. You kind of need feet for that,” Yuuri said without missing a beat.

 

“Bullshit! I read that there are devices that allow people without legs to drive. If somebody missing half of their body can drive, I know I can!

 

“Where would you even go?”

 

That question puzzled Yuri for a few moments. He hadn’t thought that far ahead.

 

“Hmm, the hell if I know. Do I have to have a destination? Can’t I just drive?” He asked, making Yuuri ponder it.

 

“I guess… I mean most people don’t just ride around aimlessly, but there’s no law that says you can’t,” he said.

 

“See,” Yuri said, looking satisfied. “I would just drive around and see all the sights. The ocean is vast, but it gets old after awhile. Plus, it would be nice to not have to think about breathing all day. I think that’s one of the reasons your species has advanced more than ours. It’s hard to be innovative when you’re constantly monitoring how long you’ve been without air, and no one wants to stay cooped up indoors all the time.”

 

‘I never thought about it like that. Somehow, I keep forgetting that they are literally holding their breath every time they’re submerged. Could the Taj Mahal had been built if the workers had to hold their breath while doing it?’ Yuuri thought as he took in the boy. He was so intelligent, but so limited by his physiology. Not only was he confined to an environment that was incompatible with his most essential needs, merpeople couldn’t form large societies due to predators… and humans.

 

‘He once said that they spend all of their time socializing, and I know he lives with his grandfather, but I’ve never heard him talking to or even attempt to talk to anyone even though I hear merman vocalizations all the time, now. Only recently he got access to human books, so he couldn’t have been reading. How does he keep his mind occupied? I would go nuts in a few days. If I had to go…’ Yuuri paused.

 

“Yura, how old are you?” He asked, and Yuri gave him a strange look.

 

“That was random as hell. I’m fifteen. Why?” He said, and Yuuri was floored.

 

“Fifteen?! You’re just a kid. Now I really feel like a failure as a scientist,” he said, and Yuri sat up in indignation.

 

“First off, you suck regardless as to how old I am. Secondly, I’m not a child. I’ll have you know that I’m old enough to reproduce!”

 

Yuuri just laughed at him, “Well sure, humans can reproduce at fifteen as well. It doesn’t make us adults. Unless you have some physical condition, you can’t be considered grown if you haven’t finished growing.”

 

“We grow until we die, so that rule doesn’t work for us. If we followed that, nobody would be considered an adult,” Yuri said, wiping Yuuri’s smile away. Never stopped growing?

 

“Wait a minute, you’re only fifteen and fall inside a normal human height range. Exactly how big do you get?!” Yuuri asked, and Yuri cocked his head to the side in thought.

 

“It depends on when you die. Most people live to around seventy, about the time when oxygen needs exceed what is available below the surface, so about two hundred forty centimeters give or take.”

 

‘Two hundred forty centimeters?! That’s taller than the tallest professional basketball player in the world!’ Yuuri thought as he processed that. His brain then started asking weird questions like, ‘Do they just elongate, or do they get proportionally bigger?’ After getting images of merpeople with giant heads, he stepped away from that line of thinking.

 

‘It seems no matter how much time we spend together and how many questions I ask, he’s still a walking mystery,’ he thought as he took in the peculiar way Yuri was sitting. In fables, humans always treated the merman tail as legs. They sit on the area where the butt would normally be, they tuck their tails beneath themselves when trying to make room, and so forth. In reality, it was far more articulated, exhibiting as much flexibility as a snake’s body. At the moment, Yuri was lying on his stomach with his tail curled up and over him like the letter “C.” Only the most flexible and trained humans could attain that shape, yet the merman was lying there as casually as if he was resting on a bed of pillows.

 

“Um, I know this may be a strange request, but can I examine you?” Yuuri finally asked, and Yuri swiftly sat up, taken aback.

 

“Please don’t take that the wrong way!” Yuuri quickly added. “I promise I’m not trying to do anything weird or extreme. I’m just trying to understand… all of this. I’m just really, really curious.”

 

For a long while, Yuri just looked at him blankly, and it unnerved Yuuri. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had talked himself out of a friendship. Most people didn’t treat their friends like research specimens.

 

‘Way to go, Katsuki. This is why you have such an exciting social life,’ Yuuri thought as he mentally sighed. He then tried to walk back his words.

 

“Actually, nevermind. Let’s forget I even asked that. You know how I-”

 

“Whatever. I don’t mind,” Yuri interjected. For a long moment, they both stared at each other.

 

“Are you sure? I would completely understand if-”

 

“I said I didn’t mind, didn’t I? Let’s hurry up and get started so you can stop putting your foot in your mouth.”

 

With that said, Yuri laid on his back and rested his hands behind his head. Seeing that as the invitation it was, Yuuri moved closer, then froze. Where the hell was he supposed to start?

 

‘I guess I’ll go from head to toe, erm tail,’ he thought.

 

As soon as Yuuri touched the boy, he was bombarded with their differences. His hair was extremely soft and as fine as a spider’s web, and apparently just as strong. He also noted he had a lot of hair follicles. As he parted his hair with his hands, he could barely see any scalp. Said scalp was just as soft. From there, he noted his ears were slightly more rounded and smaller than a standard human ear and they didn’t stick out as far. Considering his marine environment, it was a wonder he had pinnae at all.

 

‘Interesting,’ Yuuri thought.

 

Yuuri then leaned over to get a better look at his eyes. Yuri found it a bit jarring to have someone less than a foot away from his face, staring at him intently, but Yuuri was too caught up to notice the oddity. Something was off about the boy’s eyes, and he was determined to pinpoint what. It revealed itself when Yuri blinked.

 

“You have two sets of eyelids,” Yuuri said, matter-of-factly.

 

“Yeah, no shit,” Yuri replied, puzzled as to why that was news. How else would they be able to see underwater without a clear layer to protect their eyes?

 

“I guess that makes sense,” Yuuri mumbled, before moving on. He stopped when he came to his lips. Sliding a finger across them revealed them to be far more pliant than he expected. He was seriously expecting them to be chapped considering they stayed in salty water.

 

‘Another mystery,’ Yuuri thought.

 

“Can you open your mouth?” He added out loud. Dutifully, Yuri complied. Up close, Yuuri could see that he had a total of four rows of teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom. Each tooth was pointed, but because the second row was not aligned with the front, it wasn’t as obvious from a distance.

 

‘Exactly how sharp are his teeth?’ Yuuri thought, and after just barely touching the tip of one, he slashed his finger. At the taste of blood, Yuri’s eyes bulged.

 

“Ow!” Yuuri yelled.

 

“You truly are a special kind of idiot,” Yuri said as he licked the finger clean. Yuuri couldn’t help but note that his tongue was very short. Instead of sticking his tongue out of his mouth, he brought Yuuri’s finger in. He didn’t dare close his jaws, however.

 

“There, the bleeding stopped. Are you done now?” Yuri asked. The childlike look of panic on Yuuri’s face gave him his answer, so after shaking his head, he laid back down.

 

A quick examination of the boy’s chest and stomach area didn’t reveal anything special. Yuuri did note that the merman’s bones felt a bit spongier than a human's. His skin, overall, also felt a bit more dense and rubbery. It perfectly matched the feel of the tail; when he closed his eyes to test it, he couldn’t feel the juncture between the torso and lower half. Yuri squirmed like hell, however, so clearly he felt it.

 

‘Finally,’ Yuuri thought as he looked over the tail. Pressing and prodding it revealed it to be highly muscular and smooth. The only oddity was the bone. Not only could Yuuri feel the skeleton running down the tail all the way through the fleshy fins and all the associated muscle attachments, there was a second string of bones that a appeared to be more freely formed.

 

‘This could be a breakthrough! Maybe these are vestigial bones from an ancestor with legs. Even some whale and dolphin species have leftover hip bones,’ Yuuri thought as he traced the bones from just above the hard knot he noticed near the tail fins up towards the top. By this time, Yuri was staring at him wide-eyed and speechless. His body was going haywire, so he completely froze. Yuuri didn’t notice because he was too caught up in what he was doing. The bones ended near a small dip in the tail he didn’t notice. There were actually two small indentations located in the upper portion of the tail, centered, and roughly three inches apart from one another.

 

‘Huh? How did I miss this? Is this an old wound?’ Yuuri thought as he rubbed his hand over the lower indentation, careful to make sure he didn’t hurt the boy if the injury was fresh. It didn’t matter either way; as soon as the area was massaged, Yuri made a high pitch keen as… something the same color as his tail shot out of the dip and writhed like an out of control water hose. In a fraction of a second, Yuri slammed his hands over it, and then disappeared into the water. Severely startled, Yuuri had his back pressed against the cave wall.

 

‘What just happened? What the hell was that?’ He thought.

 

~

 

For hours, Yuuri waited for the boy to come back, but he never did. Luckily he was only a hundred feet or so below the surface, so he was able to swim back to shore. The next day, Yuuri went down in his gear and waited all night for Yuri, but he didn’t show. That happened the following day as well. On the third day he arrived, Yuri was already waiting for him. The boy didn’t acknowledge his presence, however. He looked straight ahead with a slightly reddened face and squeezed the package he had in his hands a bit tighter.

 

“Read this,” he said as he passed his load off to Yuuri before he could get a word out. He then moved to sit on the opposite side of the small cave about ten feet away. He made sure to keep their gazes from meeting.

 

‘O...k…’ Yuuri thought as he removed the kelp from the package. Inside were sheets that looked to be pressed from clam shells. Each sheet had carvings and symbols darkened by algae. As he looked through the sheets, Yuuri realized what they were.

 

‘It’s a book!’ He thought as he made sure to keep each piece in order. He then noticed there were messily carved abridged translations near the bottom like footnotes.

 

_Basic Anatomy and Physiology_

 

‘Ooooh.’ He thought as read the title. He then wasted no time reading through the translations and matching them to the pictures. Apparently, a merman’s lungs and heart takes up three-quarters of the torso instead of half like the human. The intestines and filtering organs make up the remaining the quarter. In the tail… is where the reproductive tract is found. The moment Yuuri got to that section, his eyes shot up to Yuri. Yuri kept his gaze averted as his face reddened further.

 

_The orifice located most distal from the tail is the exit to the intestinal tract. This is the opening for waste excretions._

 

‘They only have one opening for both liquid and solid waste. Interesting,’ Yuuri thought.

 

_Below that orifice is the genital opening. In females, this opening leads to the uterine canal. The ovaries are located near the base of the tail. Embryos develop in a vertical position in the tail, which causes the tail to widen and thicken._

 

The accompanying picture looked to be a woman with very large “hips.”

 

‘That makes sense. Sea creatures are usually streamlined. If they had enlarged abdomens, they would probably drown or be hunted down,’ Yuuri thought.

 

_In males, the testes sit in a hardened, cooling sack near the base of the tail._

 

Yuuri darkened a shade upon reading that.

 

_The testes is connected by the seminal tube to the penis which rests inside a sheath within the tail. It extends from roughly six inches below the top of the tail to the top of the testes._

 

Yuuri’s face colored another three shades. He thought that long, extra bone was a leftover leg structure. It was roughly thirty inches long!

 

“Hold on! That was your-”

 

“Keep reading!” Yuri barked, and Yuuri instantly dropped his head and complied.

 

_Due to the intricacies of female anatomy, when engaged, the penis automatically begins a tracking motion until it comes in contact with the female ovary or achieves full contact with flesh._

 

The accompanying pictures had one showing an inside view of the penis in its sheath, another showed two penises coiled like serpents around each other, and the final showed it sheathed inside the female. The penis seemed to be enclosing the ovaries.

 

On the next page, there was a detailed drawing of a merman penis. For the most part it looked pretty standard, but the tip was something else. It almost took on the shape of a flower and its petals. Right beneath the tip, a ring of muscular flaps extended roughly three inches past the head. In a relaxed state, the flaps enclosed the head. When tracking, they opened up until they came in contact with the female ovary. The flaps then closed around it, securing the connection.

 

Not being able to take anymore, Yuuri sat the pages down. They then sat together in silence for fourteen minutes. That’s how long it took Yuuri to gather his nerve.

 

“I am so sorry! I swear I didn’t know I was… yeah,” he said.

 

“Obviously,” Yuri said dryly. He sounded normal, but his face was just as red. It was awkward all around.

 

‘It was bad enough that I asked to examine him. Now, I find out that I molested him, too. Smooth, Katsuki!’ Yuuri thought as he tried to figure out a way to even begin groveling. ‘If he had feet, I’d kiss them.’

 

“Well, now that we got that out of the way, it’s your turn. Let’s see it,” Yuri said, all traces of embarrassment removed.

 

“Huh?” Yuuri asked, confused.

 

“Your cock, let’s see it. There’s no way I’m going to be the only one. I got exposed _and_ felt up. The least you can do is get naked so that I can solve this mystery once and for all,” Yuri said flippantly. Yuuri was a quarter-second from passing out.

 

“You… want to… um… what mystery?” he stuttered out, and Yuri looked at him like he was dumb.

 

“The mystery of how humans get it on. Both males and females wear pants, and those go all the way up your legs. I just don’t see where a cock will fit in there. Many a fable have been written about sex with humans, but they’re all bullshit. The top half of you is fine, but we don’t know what to do with that,” he said as he gestured towards Yuuri’s legs. Yuuri looked down and almost laughed. Here he and every other human was looking at merpeople and wondering, yet come to find out, they were thinking the same thing.

 

‘Alright, here goes nothing. Just think of it like you’re bathing in Hasetsu,’ Yuuri thought as he removed his pants and underwear. Yuri leaned forward and stared… and stared.

 

“Um… you are a male, right?” He asked in confusion. Yuuri was instantly insulted.

 

“Of course, I am!”

 

“Okay, then, where the hell is it at?” Yuri asked as he looked at the unicolor flesh, confoundedly. Blushing a bit at the scrutiny, Yuuri directed the boy’s gaze to his appendage. Yuri immediately let out a bark of laughter.

 

“What the hell? That’s it? How is that of any use?” He asked as he fell back laughing, holding his stomach. Yuuri swiftly concealed himself in his garments.

 

“It’s perfectly normal, more than normal!” He yelled. It only made Yuri laugh harder.

 

“If that’s more than normal, I’d hate to see what you’d call lacking! Aww hell, I’ll never look at humans the same way again," he said. Yuuri wanted to throw something at him, but didn’t have anything nearby.

 

“Whatever. It’s not like I’m in performance mode, so go ahead and laugh it up,” he said. Nearly two minutes later, Yuri got himself under control.

 

“What the hell is performance mode?” He asked. Yuuri then explained to him what an erection was and how it changes things. Apparently, besides some hardening, merman penises didn’t change much, so this greatly interested Yuri.

 

“Okay, go ahead and get in performance mode, or whatever,” he said, once again fixated on Yuuri’s crotch.

 

“It doesn’t work like that. I can’t just command it to get hard, and trust me, there is nothing arousing about this setting at all,” Yuuri said. Though slightly put out, Yuri backed off. Yuuri did have an idea, though.

 

“The next time I visit, I’m bringing you some human anatomy and physiology books. I think I’ll throw in some developmental biology as well,” he said, and after considering it, Yuri decided to do a full translation of the merman anatomy and physiology book. They still had far too many questions. It was time to hit the books.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... what do you think? LOL
> 
> I actually moved some of this chapter to chapters 4 and 5. I didn't want anything to progress to fast, so I did some maneuvering. Overall, I think this is a decent first step in explaining merman anatomy. There's still more to come on that.
> 
> On a different note, this site is a bit strange. There is no messaging system or forums, so you can't easily reach people. Therefore, I've decided to use my profile as the place where I give updates to my stories' progression. So, if you are wondering when an update will happen, check there for the latest news. Any questions just, review? I don't know. I may make a separate entry just for that. I'll create my own forum, damn it!


	4. What kind of magic spell to use...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri takes Yuuri deep into the heart of merman territory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied... on so many fronts, apparently. 1) I said the prologue would be the longest chapter. Lies! 2) I said this would focus on bonding. Lies!
> 
> LOL. Actually, I just moved some stuff around. As I was going over my initial plans, things were a little too generic for my taste and I didn't agree with the progression. I don't tag aimlessly; they all hold weight, so I reassessed some things, which led to me flipping things around a bit. I moved some of what I was planning for this chapter into chapter six, and some of chapter five into this one, hence the size. Trust me, this is better!
> 
> This takes place about two weeks after the last chapter.

‘I wonder where he’s taking me?’ Yuuri thought as he swam behind Yuri as fast as he could. Even though the merman had cut his speed in half, he was still traveling at nearly ten miles per hour, nearly triple what Yuuri could sustain.

 

‘Well, at least I don’t have to worry about cramping up, sinking and then dying,’ Yuuri thought wryly as he silently thanked his oxygen tanks and then pushed himself further. After being engrossed in anatomy and physiology for nearly a week, they finally got into developmental biology. That led to quite a few interesting conversations.

 

_“Hold on, humans carry their babies in their abdomens?!” Yuri asked with his face drawn up in a mix of bewilderment and incredulity. Used to Yuri’s reactions to their species’ differences, Yuuri merely looked up from his reading to casually regard the boy._

 

_“Well, yeah. We don’t have tails, so where else would we carry them?” He asked. Yuri just continued to look at him wide-eyed, before nodding to himself as if to say, “O...K…”_

 

_“Right… and it’s just perfectly normal to you for both males and females to bear children,” Yuri said slowly as if he was processing it as he was saying it. At that, Yuuri joined him in his confusion._

 

_“What? No, of course not! What gave you that idea?” He asked, now with his eyes wide. Yuri just regarded him coolly, before holding up his book._

 

_“Is this not the image of a pregnant human?” He asked as he pointed a spiked finger towards the pages. Yuuri looked, and sure enough, there was a diagram of a woman with child._

 

_“Yeah… what of it?” He asked slowly, and Yuri’s eyes narrowed._

 

_“I’ve seen plenty of human males with that same stomach, so what’s up?” He asked as he stared hard at Yuuri. Yuuri processed the words, then looked at the image again. Immediately, his eyebrows shot up._

 

_“Oh! No, I know what you saw. Those men weren’t pregnant; they were just fat!” He said, and the look of incredulity returned to Yuri’s face again._

 

_“Fat males look like pregnant females?” Yuri asked, causing Yuuri to cock his head to the side._

 

_“Well, I guess from your perspective they would,” he said._

 

_“What about the ones I saw who looked liked that, but weren’t particularly large?”_

 

_“Hmm, they probably just had beer bellies.”_

 

_That led to Yuuri having to explain what beer was, how it was made, and finally the changes it can cause to one’s body._

 

 _“Let me get this straight,” Yuri said, looking a bit annoyed and disturbed, “this beer making process is complex in that if it’s not done right, it’ll taste like shit?” Yuuri nodded. “It’s well known that this beer doesn’t have many, if any health benefits, and if drank in large quantities, can be fatally toxic?” Yuuri nodded. “It’s also well known that you could end of looking like_ **_that_ ** _if you drink it regularly?” Yuuri nodded. Yuri nodded as well, more so to himself. “Then why in the hell would anyone want to drink it?! How is_ **_this_ ** _acceptable?”_

 

_As Yuuri looked at the image of the pregnant woman waving in his face, he felt the need to defend his fellow man. Only he could call his people stupid, damn it!_

 

_“Some people enjoy the taste, and not everyone turns out like that. Me personally, I prefer wine or sake, but a beer every now and then doesn’t hurt,” he said before patting his stomach. “See, I have thrown back a few in the past and I don’t look pregnant.”_

 

_That answer seemed to appease Yuri enough for him to take in the image again. He then read a few more paragraphs before looking up again._

 

_“So, a general rule of thumb: females with distended abdomens are pregnant, and males with distended abdomens eat and or drink too much,” he said._

 

 _“Well, not quite. Women who drink and eat too much can look like that too, so_ **_never_ ** _assume with them. It doesn’t turn out well for you.”_

 

_That led to another round of discussion. In the end, Yuri informed him that human species had a stupid body design that left the digestive and reproductive systems competing for space while locomotion took up half the body. The only thing Yuuri could say to defend himself and his kind was, “We didn’t design ourselves!” That led to talks on evolution and religion, natural selection, mate choice, and finally back to development. Yuuri was then intrigued by the metamorphosis mermen undergo at the onset of puberty. Apparently, a prepubescent merman differs a great deal from a post-pubescent merman. Yuuri tried to understand what Yuri was telling him, but he just couldn’t imagine it. By the time Yuri got done explaining bits of the process, and matching it with the vague pictures in the seabook, Yuuri had an interesting picture in his head. When he conveyed that image to Yuri, the merman laughed until he cried._

 

_“I have an idea… meet me here in four days. Make sure you bring your gear.”_

 

‘I wish he had told me how much gear. Now I have to worry if I brought enough air tanks. Had I known we were going to be swimming several kilometers out, I would have doubled up,’ Yuuri thought as he felt his limbs burn. Then, just as abruptly as the thought crossed his mind, Yuri dove deep and started rapidly descending towards the bottom, before cutting left, going through a kelp bed, passing a bolder, turning right, going through a tunnel, and then disappearing into a cave. Yuuri’s main motivation for carrying on was catching up to the boy.

 

‘As soon as he stops, I’m going to show him exactly what’s good about legs,’ he thought as he envisioned the many ways he could kick him. He got his chance when they entered a sea house… no, sea building was more like it. While it wasn’t any taller than Yuri’s house, the width was astounding. They could have fit the Hogwart’s dining hall in there. Plus, if Yuri’s house had been confusing with tunnels and turns, this place was a bonafide labyrinth. Without guidance, Yuuri was absolutely sure he would never make it back out.

 

“Hey Yura, what is-” he started then abruptly clamped his mouth shut. Yuri’s spikes were extended, and his eyes glowed as he looked around the area they were in. Yuuri quickly looked around as well, and noticed they were likely in the heart of the cave seeing as how it was a rounded room with multiple passageways surrounding it. It was a little disconcerting to think that something could come out of any opening, especially with how Yuri was behaving.

 

“Yura, what’s going on?” Yuuri whispered as he moved a little closer to the merman. For a long moment Yuri remained silent, just assessing. He then let out a breath and retracted his spikes as his eyes dulled.

 

“It’s alright, you can all come out now,” he said, and then from the most eastward tunnel, six heads peered from around the corner. There was a moment of silence, and then “boom,” an explosion of activity.

 

“Hey Yuri, where you go?”

 

“Did you bring us something?”

 

“Is that a _real_ human?! Are you gonna keep it?”

 

“No fair! I wanna keep it!”

 

“You two are such idiots! It’s a person, not a pet! Grow up!”

 

“Yuyu, up up!”

 

Yuuri quickly whipped his head in all directions as the… children(?) practically swam circles around him and Yuri, surfacing and submerging at random. Yuri seemed unperturbed by the commotion as he picked up the tiniest child. Yuuri on the other hand was openly gaping at them. Looking at them, it was clear they were merchildren, but their proportions were… off.

 

‘They look like lightbulbs,’ Yuuri thought as he tried to describe to himself what he was seeing. While their torsos were mostly proportionate to their heads, their tails were severely truncated in relation, like the screw threads of a lightbulb.   

 

“Funny looking little things, aren’t they?” Yuri said as he gave Yuuri a knowing smirk. Immediately, the kids let him know they didn’t appreciate the comment.

 

“Hey!” They yelled as they hit him, repeatedly. Even the one being held joined in, hitting his head, “Yuyu mean!” Meanwhile, Yuuri was recalling all that he read on merfolk development.

 

_“I really don’t see what’s not to get. The line between pre and post puberty is pretty cut and dry. One look at one of us, and you know what stage we’re in,” Yuri said as he reclined, clearly confused by Yuuri’s confusion. Yuuri just turned back to the book, carefully reorganizing the factoids in his head._

 

_‘Hmm. Based on these measurements, they’re only a little longer than human babies at birth. They are also toothless like human babies, only teething after they turn a year old. Similarly, they lose their baby teeth, and get adult teeth later. The only thing that seems different is their growth pattern. Apparently, they grow slow and continuously until some point during their twelfth year when metamorphosis start. I wonder if they are using metamorphosis the way we use puberty?’_

 

As Yuuri looked between the children and Yuri, he came to the conclusion that, no, when they said metamorphosis they meant metamorphosis. Instead of the jagged points Yuri had, the kids’ teeth were completely flat as if they had been filed down to a quarter of an inch. Even he with his wimpy human teeth could do more damage than they could. Their spikes, while sharp, could hardly slice through bone like Yuri’s could. Most importantly, while Yuri’s tail made up half of his body, the children’s made up a quarter, at best. Where Yuri’s was long and lithe, theirs were stumpy and sharply funnelled to accommodate the tiny fins on the bottom. Even their swimming styles were different. Instead of weaving through the water, their tail fins moved at dozens of strokes per second like little motorboats.

 

‘Well, I guess it makes sense. Since the tail is chiefly for locomotion and reproduction, and they can’t reproduce, its reduced to its minimum requirement,’ Yuuri thought.

 

“Alright, I’ll go ahead and do the respectful thing and introduce you to these brats,” Yuri said, drawing Yuuri’s attention. “This smartass is Katya, these two badasses are Valeriy and Dmitriy, that’s Katya’s mimic, Yana, the one trying to secretly search your bag is Maxim, and the one I’m holding is Irina. I got suckered into baby duty today, and you’re going to help me… Hey, wait a minute, where’s Pashka?”

 

‘Yuri babysitting? Somebody was desperate! I wonder what dirt they have on him?’ Yuuri thought as he laughed to himself and took in the kids. Based on what he knew about merman growth patterns, he assumed Katya was around eight, though she was roughly the same height as a human two-year-old. She had deep blue hair and lilac eyes, a true child of the sea. In Yuuri’s book she was already alright with him; she understood that people weren’t pets. Valeriy and Dmitriy looked slightly younger, and were currently looking at him in wonder. As two sets of eyes, one red and one orange sized him up, he realized they still didn’t get the memo. Looking past the mops of turquoise and sand colored hair, respectively, he saw Yana, the younger girl, pull Maxim, the youngest boy, away from his bag and scold him. They weren’t far apart in age and the rolling of Maxim’s eyes let it be known what he thought of Yana’s opinion. With Yana’s hair being smoke grey and Maxim’s being silver, they reminded Yuuri of yin and yang.

 

‘The little one has silver hair, too, and they both have violet eyes. I wonder if they’re related,’ Yuuri thought as he turned to Irina to see her unblinkingly staring at him from only a couple of feet away, no Yuri in sight.

 

“Um…” Yuuri uttered, uncomfortable with all the eyes.

 

“You know our names. What’s yours?” Katya asked. Yuuri turned his gaze to her, and he could swear they all got closer in unison.

 

“Actually, I’m called Yuuri, too. Nice to meet you all,” Yuuri said.

 

“Nice to meet you,” they all said, and then the stare fest continued.

 

‘Now I know what performing seals feel like,’ Yuuri thought as he actually felt himself start to sweat. He then felt a tug on his wetsuit, and looked down and saw Irina holding onto it.

 

“Yuyu2 up up,” she said then lifted her arms. Yuuri was thoroughly caught off guard.

 

‘How am I supposed to pick her up in water? I kind of need my arms,’ he thought, but the girl looked so hopeful that he awkwardly wrapped one arm around her like a football, then made his way to the ledge. No sooner than he climbed up, he heard a series of angry clicks and squeals. The kids instantly joined him on the ledge, sharing nervous glances and staring towards the eastward tunnel.

 

‘What is happening? Where’s Yura?’ Yuuri thought as the sounds got closer. He then saw Yuri emerge, practically dragging a smaller boy out from the tunnel and into the center room. At first glance the boy looked to be the size of a human five-year-old, but Yuuri knew he was probably close to metamorphosis.

 

“This is Pashka. Say hi, Pashka,” Yuri said as he dropped the boy in front of Yuuri.

 

“Hi,” Pashka mumbled without looking up, and then swam over to the furthest ledge, looking everywhere but Yuuri’s direction. Puzzled, Yuuri turned to Yuri.

 

“What’s wrong with him? Is he okay?” He asked the merman, but was essentially brushed off.

 

“He’ll be alright,” Yuri said without care, waving him off. Luckily, the kids were more than happy to fill him in.

 

“Pashka doesn’t like that Yuri brought a human here,” Katya tried to whisper, but Yuuri was sure mostly everyone heard her.

 

“Yeah, that’s why he wanted to stay in back,” Yana chimed in, and Maxim nodded.

 

“But the back isn’t safe. Monsters come in sometimes,” he added. Valeriy and Dmitriy just made fun of the sulking, older boy for being a coward. Now understanding the situation, Yuuri gave Yuri a hard look.

 

“What?! Why the hell are you looking at me like that?” Yuri asked, and Yuuri just shook his head. Carefully pulling away the tiny child that was wrapped across his chest like a bib, Yuuri jumped back into the water and swam towards the wayward boy. As he came closer, Yuuri swore that he heard mumbling, but it was not in any human language so he ignored it.

 

“What do you want?” Pashka asked as he eyed Yuuri wearily.

 

“The others told me you didn’t want me here?” Yuuri said with a smile, making Pashka’s eyes widen. They then narrowed in defiance.

 

“Yeah, so, I said it. What of it?” He said with a growl while looking off to the side. He didn’t get a reply for a long time, so he eventually turned his gaze to Yuuri. Only then did Yuuri partially bow his head towards the boy.

 

“I’m sorry for the intrusion. Yuri just told me to follow him. I had no clue where he was taking me,” he said, making Pashka’s eyes widen once more as an embarrassed blush painted his cheeks.

 

“Why are you telling me that? It’s not like I asked,” the boy said.

 

“I know,” Yuuri said with a smile, before regarding the boy seriously. “It’s just that you’re right to be weary. I know better than anyone what my kind is capable of, so you have a good outlook. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can say that I’m not here to harm anyone.”

 

“Why should I trust you?” Pashka asked, staring into Yuuri’s eyes unblinkingly. Yuuri just shook his head.

 

“Honestly, you shouldn’t. Many people will gladly give their words with the full intention of deceiving you. But, even still, I hope you will trust me,” he said, and Pashka swiftly glanced away.

 

“Whatever,” he mumbled as the blush returned. Seeing that he wasn’t going to get anything else from the boy, Yuuri smiled at him, and then started making his way back to the others. Three quarters of the way there, he saw Irina with her arms open wide.

 

“Yuyu2!” She yelled, then promptly swam backwards, outstretched arms getting further and further away.

 

“Aww! You almost had it!” The kids said in dejection, and Yuuri instantly looked at Yuri with his eyebrows raised.

 

“For some reason, we learn how to swim backwards first,” Yuri said, before thinking better of it. “Actually, we kind of just swim in circles for the first few months, then we learn to swim backwards. Learning to swim forwards take some time. Irina is already two, and she still hasn’t figured it out.”

 

“She’ll get it!” Maxim said with a glare, before pulling the girl away from the wall. She was still trying to go forward, yet was only rubbing more and more against the rock.

 

“Nope, you’re doing it wrong. Try moving your tail like this,” Dmitriy said, and Irina tried to copy it only to fail. The other kids then joined in, all talking at once. By the way they were going at it, Yuuri couldn’t understand a thing even though they were speaking Russian.

 

‘That poor girl; she’s never going to get it like that,’ he thought before swimming over.

 

“Hey, let me take a stab at it. If she can’t get the tail movements right, maybe a person that doesn’t have a tail can help,” he said, and the kids instantly parted like the Red Sea. Clearly they were out of ideas.

 

“Okay, this is going to be a bit different for you, but try using your arms to direct you, like this,” Yuuri said as he casually swam circles around Irina. “Since humans don’t have tails, we use both our arms and legs to swim. Our legs provide the motion, but our arms are what propel and direct us.”

 

Irina watched for a moment, and then awkwardly slapped at the water as she tried to mimic him. Unlike the kids, whose first instinct was to jump in and help, Yuuri let her flail until she finally picked up the proper motion. She didn’t quite move forward like Yuuri did, seeing as how just a few inches of propulsion took maximum effort, but she wasn’t moving backward anymore, so it was progress.

 

“At the rate she’s going, she’s going to be buff as hell by the time she reaches the other side of the room,” Yuri said dryly, not impressed. The kids glared, and Yuuri gave him his back as he turned to regard everyone but him.

 

“Okay, let’s just pretend he’s not here from now on? What do you say?” He asked with an overly sweet smile.

 

“Yeah!” The kids yelled, and then they all promptly moved further away from Yuri. Yuri watched, not sure whether to feel shocked, betrayed or annoyed. The decision was made for him when he heard muffled laughter coming from behind him.

 

“What the hell are you cackling about?” He yelled as he whipped around. Pashka simply mumbled a quick, “Nothing,” before masking his laughter again. Meanwhile, Yuuri and the others were diligently working with Irina. It took a full hour, but she eventually got the hang of it, mostly.

 

“Alright, I’m heading back to the ledge,” Yuuri announced, before swimming over to Yuri. “That was more tiring than I thought it would be. Whew!”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you talking to me?” Yuri asked good-naturedly, and Yuuri frowned in confusion. A second later, realization shown across his face.

 

“Seriously?” He said out loud, before mumbling, “Let’s add ‘holds grudges’ to the growing list of Yura’s personality quirks.”

 

“What was that?” Yuri said as he leaned in, grinning viciously.

 

“Nothing, nothing!” Yuuri waved the boy off with a wide grin of his own, before turning to look at the kids. They were tossing something around that resembled a ball with Maxim and Irina completely out of their depths as the toy sailed over their heads repeatedly. Yuuri couldn’t help but to smile at them.

 

“You’re pretty good with them,” Yuri said, drawing Yuuri’s attention back to him. “Good. You just made my job easier; I hate babysitting.”

 

“Yura, did you bring me here to do your job?” Yuuri said with an eerie level of calmness. Yuri’s eyes instantly rounded in alarm.

 

“What? Of course not!” He denied, and Yuuri just narrowed his eyes at him.

 

“Mmhmm. I totally believe you,” Yuuri said with his cheek propped up on his hand. Yuri tried to further deny, but Yuuri just laughed at him, which made Yuri laugh as well.

 

“I swear, I really didn’t,” Yuri said, barely keeping the laughter out of his voice.  “Since neither I nor the textbook was having success explaining development and metamorphosis to you, I figured seeing it in person was the last hope for your dumb ass.”

 

Feeling quite childish after indulging the kids earlier, Yuuri stuck his tongue out at the boy. It was so unexpected, Yuri choked on his saliva, making both Pashka and Yuuri laugh.

 

“Pashka, why are you even over here? Are you sure you want to be in the presence of the big, scary human?” Yuri mocked, and without missing a beat, Pashka turned to Yuuri.

 

“Do you know that the other adults have to practically bribe him to get him to watch over us, even though he has no other obligations? He then comes in and just ignores us, even going so far as bringing in a kelp cover to make sure he doesn’t have to see us. He always eats the biggest and the best of the food when we need it most, and then complains when we ask him to share. He also…” Pashka rattled off, while Yuri stared at Yuuri with a look said, “Is he _seriously_ telling on me? What the fuck?”

 

The boy was still talking, and Yuuri was doing everything in his power not to laugh. ‘It serves him right!’ He thought. Unfortunately for Pashka, Yuri’s shock didn’t last long.

 

“Hey, did you lose some more teeth?” He asked, and abruptly the boy fell silent, but not before Yuri could see inside his mouth. “Yup, it looks like you lost two more. There’s only a few months until you turn twelve, and based on how fast those pegs are falling out, I wouldn’t be surprised if you started metamorphosis on your birthday. Did I ever tell you how painful metamorphosis is?”

 

With rounded, glassy eyes, Pashka’s fear was obvious. Yuri just smiled.

 

“It is absolutely excruciating. In just a year’s time, the lower half of your body is stretched as bones elongate and muscles repeatedly break and reform to keep you from ripping apart. Sometimes you have to be gagged to be stopped from screaming out. You can’t keep anything down, not that you will want to eat anyway. As each one of sixty teeth rip through your gums, all you taste is blood for a solid year, while your whole mouth feels like it is on fire. Going from those to these take some adjustments too, so be prepared to make silly mistakes like nervously biting your lip, like you're doing right now, and biting through things only to have your own teeth sink into your flesh. Ah, fun times!” He added. Pashka looked pale.

 

“Don’t pay him any attention!” Yuuri said, before quickly searching his bag and pulling out a white chocolate bar. “I was going to give it to Yuri, but I’ve changed my mind. Take this and share it with the others.”

 

“Hey!” Yuri yelled as the boy sniffed the package, perked up, and then quickly swam over to the still playing kids. Yuri then turned to Yuuri with a glare, only to be met with one.

 

“What?! I was only being honest; we all have to go through it,” Yuri said, and Yuuri continued to glare.

 

“Even if all of that was true, you didn’t have to share it. Like you said, they’d all have to go through it at some point, right?” He said, and Yuri deflated, taking on a serious look. Sensing that the mood had changed, Yuuri shifted from annoyed to attentive.

 

“If only it was that simple,” Yuri said as he shook his head. “I actually didn’t bring you here just to answer your questions. They may think I don’t think about them, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Sometimes, I feel like I’m the only one thinking about them.”

 

‘Huh? What is he saying?’ Yuuri thought as he could openly see the worry in Yuri’s eyes.

 

“The main reason I brought you here was to expose them to the outside world. Since they can’t be apart of it, I figured I would bring it to them,” Yuri said, and Yuuri’s eyebrows pinched.

 

“What do you mean?” He asked, confused.

 

“Two years ago, an ordinance was passed to hide away all minors until after they undergo metamorphosis. It was supposedly a last resort to stop our species from going extinct,”  Yuri said, stunning Yuuri.

 

“For some reason, around six years ago our predators switched tactics and started going after preadolescents almost exclusively. Even if there were dozens of adults centered in one area, they would bypass them and spend days searching for one child. It started at a slower pace with only three or four being picked off a year, but by the year the ordinance came into effect, apparently seventeen juveniles were killed in three months. I wasn’t around during that period because I was going through metamorphosis, but I definitely saw the aftermath. Our reproductive rate can’t keep up with that much depletion long term, so the adults decided to pool resources and put all juveniles in a safe house, where we are now. Normally, that would be suicide, but it’s a lot easier to guard one place instead of several. Having odor barriers and barricades surrounding this place and an adult attendant on guard helps as well,” Yuri said, before growling and then continuing.

 

“But are we really saving them or just stopping the inevitable? There are more than just predators beyond these walls, and reading books aren’t going to prepare them for that. Besides Pashka, look at how easily they took to you. Even with me giving the okay, they should have at least been slightly weary. Irina has never even seen the open ocean. With how naive and trusting they are, they’re going to be in a human exhibit within a week of them swimming outside of these walls.”  


‘Or worse,’ Yuuri’s brain added, and his heart clenched. He had already come face to face with a predator, and knew how horrifying that was. He also knew what else lurked in the water, things that made sharks seem cute and friendly. Most alarmingly, he knew what was waiting on land. He wanted none of those fates for those kids.

 

“This is just not adding up to me. Six years ago, out of nowhere, a specialist predator that has coevolved with its prey for thousands of years started going after its prey’s juveniles, hunting them to the point of potential population collapse, which will eventually lead to its own collapse. From an evolutionary standpoint, it doesn’t make sense, especially with how rapidly they changed course” Yuuri said as he pondered.

 

“That’s what we thought as well, but we researched the surrounding circumstances extensively, and nothing changed. We didn’t change our diet, mating behavior, social behavior, reproductive rate... anything. We even started researching them, risking our lives to capture them alive. Nothing changed.

 

“All we can do now is adapt to what we’re given, and this is the best we’ve come up with it. I personally think this is what you humans would call a false economy. As these kids are spit back into the real world, they’re going to be weak targets. That will make their kids even more vulnerable than they are right now. If something doesn’t change, we really will become just a page in your fable books,” Yuri said, making Yuuri frown.

 

‘It must be something happening from outside the natural system. If something foreign is introduced, it can have big impacts without the inhabitants knowing anything changed. The merpeople may be smart, but they don’t have the means we have,’ he thought.

 

“Yura, I’m going to look into this. I want copies of every piece of research you all have done. If it’s possible, get me DNA on every person you can. Of course blood is best, but I can work with hair, too. Do you think you can pull it off?” He asked. Yuri merely quirked an eyebrow as if to say, “Are you seriously asking _me_ that?”

 

“Give me two days. I’ll start with these brats.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do NOT think this is the introduction to some major conflict. Remember, I'm not diverting from the relationship and interactions between Yuri and Yuuri. Even this plot device will be used in that capacity. I cannot say more without giving it away. It will make sense after chapter five. Chapters 4-6 must happen for chapter 7 to work. Chapter 7 must happen to go into the final phase of the story (my personal favorite). I have a plan for how many chapters this will have, but I don't want to say just yet. I hate things hanging over my head. The least you know the better for my mojo. LOL
> 
> As always, please tell me what you think? I'm dying to know if anyone picked up on some of the nuggets I dropped!


	5. I did not sign up for this...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri gets to the heart of what's plaguing merman society.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will say that this chapter was the main reason I almost didn't post this story. I knew how much work it was going to take, and I didn't know if I had the time and energy in me to provide it. It is literally 2-3 times the length of the other chapters, and required so much fact checking and planning that it felt daunting. I literally abhor writing **and** reading long chapters, because I feel most people can't pull them off. Whenever I come across useless words in a story, I skip over them, and I didn't want people doing that here, so I literally poured over every line. When writing a chapter that is as science heavy as this, I have to find the perfect balance in making the character sound intelligent and realistic, yet keeping it enjoyable for the reader who may be a layperson. It's a bitch!
> 
> After much deliberation, I am finally happy enough with this to post it. Believe it or not, by word count, we are roughly halfway through this story due to the length of this chapter. (This story will not cross the 50k threshold!)
> 
>  **Side Note:** My dumb ass looked at the map upside down when I was researching Saint Petersburg and its surrounding waters. To all who don't know, Saint Petersburg proper is surrounded by a big ass dam, that cuts off the Neva Bay from the Gulf of Finland. It is very shallow, so I wanted to make sure when I gave Yuuri directions in chapter two, they would direct him to the other side of the dam where the merpeople live. Yeah... I promptly directed him INSIDE the dam. SMH. I went back and changed the words a bit to fix that, but it didn't change anything. This will be important for a later chapter. To any Russians reading: My bad! I know you guys were thinking, "What in the hell is she talking about?" LOL

“Let me get this straight, you want to stick a needle through my tail, and into my balls...”

 

**_29 Days Ago_ **

 

“Yura, I’m going to look into this. I want copies of every piece of research you all have done. If it’s possible, get me DNA on every person you can. Of course blood is best, but I can work with hair, too. Do you think you can pull it off?” He asked. Yuri merely quirked an eyebrow as if to say, “Are you seriously asking _me_ that?”

 

“Give me two days. I’ll start with these brats.”

 

“Whoa, wait! I have no idea what method you’re thinking of using, but whatever it is, it can’t be good,” Yuri said as he took in the merman’s sadistic expression. “I’m going to bring you some equipment. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right… and _humanely_.”

 

Yuri shifted his gaze from the kids to side eye Yuuri, and couldn’t help but to laugh at his overly concerned face. Yuuri chose to ignore him.

 

“Anyway, I know that I said I wouldn’t ask you anything about how your structures are built, and I plan on standing by that. I just need to know the interior pressure,” Yuuri said, and for a moment, a look of puzzlement flitted across Yuri’s face. It then shifted to one of recognition; he had just read about this in one of the books Yuuri brought a few weeks ago.

 

“If I remember correctly, sea level has an atmospheric pressure of one, and pressure increases by one for every ten meters below the surface, right?” Yuri asked, and got a head nod in return.

 

“In that case, outside should be about six…” he trailed off for a minute, then perked up abruptly. “Hold on; I’m going to go check.” Without waiting for a response, he jumped into the water and then shot out of the nearest tunnel. Less than a minute later, he returned.

 

“Based on what I felt, I would guess it’s about one and half to two times higher in here. Why?” He asked, and Yuuri just sighed.

 

“Not good,” he said. “That is going to limit us a bit. Most of the equipment will be fine, but I don’t trust the capillary tubes. I’ll have to put in a special order for plastic ones, and if I’m going to do that, I may as well get plastic slides, films and syringes as well.”

 

He then explained to the merman what all of those items are, their purposes, and how to use them. The plan was for Yuri to sign up to babysit once more, bribe the kids with surface food in order to easily collect full blood samples, provide a full sample himself since he was the only willing adult, and then secretly nick the kids’ parents one by one as they visited in their hour-long time slots. Yuuri thought it sounded ridiculous and was ashamed that that was the best the two of them could come up with, but Yuri assured him that it would work perfectly. Apparently, it was highly common for merpeople to get random nicks and cuts due to their spikes, similar to how humans unknowingly pick up papercuts. It also helped that they only needed eight drops of blood to fill the 600 microliter capillary tubes.

 

“It’ll take a few days for everything to arrive. In the meantime, let’s review the research you all have conducted,” Yuuri said.

 

**_27 Days Ago_ **

 

“You guys really left no rock unturned,” Yuuri said as he picked up another report. Not only did they record detailed accounts of every single attack over the last six years, they made everyone provide a daily food journal that included the time of day they ate and how long it took them to eat it; a second journal recording all of their physical activity, including sex and sleep patterns; and a third journal detailing the places and times they visited, and with whom. Even though Yuri was able to condense a full sheet of text into a few translated lines, and Yuuri had sacrificed work and sleep, they were still only part way through and hadn’t even touched the predator cognition, social behavior and diet reports.

 

“The supplies will arrive tomorrow, so I’ll deliver them to you after the civil twilight. Do you think you can transcribe an even more condensed version of your translations by then?” Yuuri asked.

 

“What?! You want me to read over this boring shit again? I don’t care about their dry ass lives and whether or not they ate kelp with their fish! Is this really going to get us anywhere?” Yuri asked. Yuuri just stared at him blankly without blinking.

 

“Damn it, stop staring already! I never said I wasn’t going to do it. I just don’t want to waste time on this and have nothing come of it once again,” Yuri said, then deflated with a sigh. “I’ll translate all of the graphs and statistical tests we ran on the data. I’ll also make a list of the most common factors. If I work throughout the rest of the night and day, I should be able to have it ready by the time you return. I’ll then work on getting the samples.”

 

“Thanks Yura,” Yuuri said with a small sympathetic smile. “I know you guys have already poured over this stuff tirelessly. I’m just hoping that a fresh set of eyes may see something that you all are too close to notice.”

 

**_24 Days Ago_ **

 

“So, how did it go?” Yuuri asked once they reached Yuri’s hideout. Yuri immediately plopped onto his back after sliding Yuuri the supply case.

 

“I am all peopled out. If I have to interact with one more person, I’m going to get violent,” he said, and Yuuri gave him an inquisitive look as if to say, “What am I, chopped liver?” The expression was lost on Yuri; he was too busy resting his eyes to be bothered with his human companion. Yuuri didn’t take it personally because the boy really did look like he had run the gauntlet.  

 

“Well, hopefully these will make up for it,” Yuuri said as he pulled out his own supply case. Immediately, one of Yuri’s eyes popped open. “These are champagne truffles from Switzerland. I first tried these when my advisor brought back a box a few months ago. They’re a bit pricey, but I knew you’d love them as much as I do,” Yuuri added. Like sun on a wilted flower, Yuri came alive.

 

“Now _this_ is what I’m talking about. Add in another box, and I’d call us even,” Yuri said as he popped a dusted ball into his mouth, and then hummed. Most people would have called him out on acting as though he was the one helping save someone else’s people, but it never crossed Yuuri’s mind. He was more concerned with the way Yuri was eating the chocolate. He literally just popped two more balls into his mouth, then swallowed them after barely chewing.

 

“Hey, those aren’t peanuts! They’re supposed to be savored,” he said, appalled. “Besides, those are for dessert. I brought real food too, you know.”

 

“Fuck off! I’ll eat in whatever order I want,” Yuri said as he popped a sixth ball into his mouth for good measure. For sixteen seconds they both glared at each other. It was Yuuri who finally conceded. He was more than willing to stare the boy into oblivion, but he was anxious to get down to business.

 

“Wow, you were really able to get blood from everyone,” he said, as he counted the samples in amazement.

 

“Tsk, I told you about doubting me,” Yuri said as he finally picked up the container holding “real food.” Considering his name was on it, he assumed this one was his. Even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered. Yuuri’s brain was on everything but food.

 

“Wait, why are there so many?” Yuuri asked as he counted the samples. There should have been eight 10 mL vials, one for each kid and Yuri, and ten capillary tubes for the five sets of parents. Instead, there was an additional vial and three more capillary tubes.

 

“Oh those,” Yuri said nonchalantly, “I figured since I was collecting, I might as well get all of the brats. The vial and two of the tubes belong to Alena, Nikita and their baby Lera. The other belongs to my grandfather.”

 

“Lera? Was she absent the day I came by?” Yuuri asked, confused.

 

“No, she’s only five months old. Babies can’t be separated from their mothers until after weaning, because they literally suckle for twenty-two hours a day. She’ll be brought in after her first birthday,” Yuri said, and Yuuri’s mind started racing. First, he was horrified of the thought that an infant could be eaten. Then his mind jumped to a peculiarity in the data.

 

“Hold on, I noticed that the youngest baby taken was just a few weeks post weaning. Out of a hundred and twenty-six kids lost, none of them were reported to be of nursing age. Do you know of any?” He asked. Just as Yuuri’s had, Yuri’s brain started firing.

 

“No…,” he said, while internally deep in thought. “We’ve taken extra precautions with the newly born, but a one hundred percent success rate…” Yuuri just nodded his head.

 

“I’m going to spend extra time analyzing Lera’s blood,” he said, and then looked at the fourth capillary tube. “Why did you give me your grandfather’s blood?”

 

Yuri immediately rolled his eyes skyward, setting his container down just as Yuuri was picking his up.

 

“You know, I really don’t know what’s going on with him. He randomly came in carrying some smelly fish species I’ve never seen before, saying, ‘Yurochka, I’m going to show you how to prepare the best meal around. It takes me back to my days of youth,’” Yuri said, switching his voice to imitate his grandfather. “We live in the sea, there isn’t a whole lot of preparation you can do. You simply kill it, slice it up, and then call it a day, but no, he insisted on slicing in certain areas at particular angles to get it just right. After spending an hour doing this, he then sliced his finger open on a bone of all things, and then just stood there staring as he bled all over the fish. I figured since it was right there, I might as well get a sample.”

 

Yuuri tried to be polite, but wound up laughing anyway as he stared at Yuri’s annoyed and perturbed face.

 

“Is he alright? His finger, I mean,” Yuuri asked, while shielding his mouth to hide his grin.

 

“Yeah, his stupid finger is fine, but I don’t know about him, personally,” Yuri said while looking perplexed. “I honestly think he’s getting senile.”

 

“Senile? You guys get dementia?” Yuuri asked, a bit surprised.

 

“No, it’s different. There isn’t a word in the human language to describe the lost of mental faculties due to long-term oxygen deprivation, but senility is the closest,” Yuri said before picking his bowl back up, and then aggressively placed food in his mouth. Yuuri pondered on Yuri’s words for a moment, then decided to analyze them again at a later date.

 

“So, what did you wind up eating?” He asked. Had one of his relatives bled all over the food, it would be in the garbage. Family or not, he had to draw the line somewhere. Yuri was on the same page.

 

“Nothing, nothing at all,” he said, before glaring down at his bowl. “He did all that, and we didn’t even get to eat. But, you know what? Even that was better than this. What is this?” He asked, and Yuuri’s eyes widened.

 

“Oliver Salad. I ordered it from a restaurant near my apartment. I asked the chef what he recommended, and he said to get that. He claimed that no one had ever been displeased with it,” Yuuri said, and Yuri shifted his glare to him.

 

“He either lied, or humans are far too polite,” he said, and then looked at Yuuri’s bowl. “What do you have? It sure doesn’t look like Oliver Salad.”

 

“Vatrushka. Do you want to try it?” Yuuri asked as he tilted his container towards the merman. Yuri took a piece of the pastry and hummed.

 

“Trade?” Yuuri asked. Yuri simply took another piece in response.

 

“Trade.”

 

**_19 Days Ago_ **

 

“Where the hell have you been?! You said the blood panels would only take three days at most; it’s been five!” Yuri said once they reached the hideout.

 

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri said quietly with his head bowed. He then lifted his gaze, and Yuri was shocked into silence to see his eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry, Yura.”

 

“Get a grip, I’m not that angry. I was more worried than anything. It’s not like I’ll get a memo if something happens on the surface,” Yuri said softly, and then smirked. Yuuri didn’t respond, and slowly Yuri’s face shifted to one of worry.

 

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

 

“I knew it,” Yuuri said as he shook his head and closed his eyes briefly to clear his emotions. “The moment you described what was going on, I knew we would be involved in some way. It’s always us.”

 

He then fully regarded Yuri. “Yura, humans caused this. All of this is due to a blood parasite linked to an invasive fish we helped proliferate called the round goby. They're usually hosts for nematodes, but this blood parasite is the most dangerous, and it went under the radar for years. It only gained recognition as it moved up the food chain and scientists noticed that it could survive in a wide range of host species.

 

“We have found this same parasite in seals, sea lions, dolphins, orcas and even humans. It is known to compromise the immune system, but it isn’t fatal. In your cases, however, it is competing with a second blood organism,” Yuuri said as he went into his bag, and handed Yuri several images taken with his lab’s scanning electron microscope.

 

“What the fuck?” Yuri mumbled as he looked at closeups of the two organisms. It made his stomach roll. “Okay, how do we get rid of these bastards?”

 

“That’s just it. At first, I thought you were fighting two parasites, but the more I study that other creature, the more I think it is mutualistic,” Yuuri said as he pulled out a paper highlighting all of his findings.

 

“For one, the minute I tried to place it in a blood medium other than merman, it died instantly. Its life stages are also highly attuned to your bodies. For example, the pH of your blood at each stage: nursing, juvenile and adult, is fractionally different, yet they respond to it by metamorphosing into different life phases as well. The problem seems to be their adult phase.

 

“The first thing that struck me when I looked at your blood was the insane number of white blood cells you have, the body’s fighter cells. This one right here is called an eosinophil, and it specializes in fighting parasites,” Yuuri said as he showed Yuri another image.

 

“When I looked at your blood under the microscope, it was wiping out both organisms left and right, but the eggs of the native species weren’t affected. It was the same in all of the adults. In Lera’s blood, the adult organisms were killed similarly, while the eggs hatched into larva. In the juveniles is where everything got interesting. As expected, the larvae started hatching into adults. Oddly, no eggs were laid, and I think that’s due to their blood’s pH, but I haven’t tested it. I’m more concerned with their white blood cell count.

 

“This is going to sound crazy, but I don’t think merpeople make white blood cells from birth like most organisms do. All of the juveniles’ white blood cell count is dangerously low, and at first I thought it was due to the parasites, but the number seems to fall along a perfect curve by age when you place age one at zero. The number of native organisms followed the same curve in almost a perfect correlation. We can’t be sure which comes first, but I’m willing to bet that that organisms presence is what signals to your kids to start making white blood cells.”

 

“That doesn’t make sense. You said that Lera has a normal count, so there has to be something more to this,” Yuri said, and Yuuri shook his head.

 

“That stumped me too, but when I looked at the reports you gave me, it lined up. The kids started being targeting about two to three weeks after weaning, the average lifespan of a white blood cell.”

 

“They’re getting white blood cells from the breast milk,” Yuri spoke out loud, more to himself, but Yuuri nodded anyway.

 

“That’s the conclusion I came to as well, but it just left me with more questions. I needed to understand the role of these native organisms, so to see what would happen without the presence of the parasites, I applied a chemical agent that’s known to target them. As soon as they died, the white blood cells surrounded the natives and put them into a stasis.

 

“By this point, I was stumped on how to move further, so I asked my advisor his opinion. I didn’t tell him anything about you guys or what I was working on; I just asked him in what ways can a predator species pick out the weak by scent alone. The first thing out of his mouth was parasite signaling. Apparently, some parasites can cause a change in hormone composition, and predators have evolved to pick out even the slightest hint that its prey is weak.”

 

“If that’s the case, I already know what’s going on,” Yuri said with a frown. “Let me guess, the hormone composition is vastly different in the blood when they are not in stasis.”

 

“Yeah… but it’s a little more serious than a simple shift. Those creatures release a hormone so complex that it even stumped our chemistry team. Luckily, they only saw the mass spectrometer printout, so they have no clue where it came from,” Yuuri said with a weak smile. Lost in thought, Yuri paid him no mind as his brain reorganized things and filled in holes.

 

“Okay, the working hypothesis is that we have evolved with these things over time. They need our bodies to live: adults to lay eggs in, babies to hatch in, and juveniles to metamorphose in; and we need them to signal when to create white blood cells,” Yuri said, and Yuuri nodded. “If we get sick or don’t create enough white blood cells, they start secreting hormones into our blood, which predators pick up on.” Yuuri nodded, before adding on to it.

 

“That’s actually a benefit. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but if someone has poor genetics or are too sickly, they’ll get wiped out before they can reproduce,” he added. “We humans have no natural predators, so not only have our numbers grown large, we also have a lot of sickly people. You guys are fewer in number, but from what I’ve seen in those journals, you’re exceptionally healthy. No one seems to die from diseases.”

 

“Maybe, but it seems we have a disease right now,” Yuri said as he glared in thought. “Our kids bodies are preoccupied with the parasite, so those things are signalling that they are weak. It appears to be working too, because the predators are getting the message loud and clear. At least somebody is benefitting.”

 

“Actually, I think they are suffering, too,” Yuuri said with a sigh. “You once said that mermen couldn’t be in large groups because they attract predators. Well, if the amount of hormone is normally linked to the amount of prey, they are getting false signals. The kids’ bodies are indicating that there is more available than reality. The reports said there were times when predators have bypassed groups of adults to get to one kid, so they’re expending a lot of energy for very little reward.”

 

“I’m sorry, is this the part where I’m supposed to feel bad for them?” Yuri said, with a humorless, sarcastic laugh. “This may seem biased, but fuck them! I hope they rot in hell,” he added and Yuuri placed his hands up to placate him.

 

“I wasn’t taking up for them, or giving them sympathy or anything. I was just saying that nobody is winning in this. It looks like you were right when you said that that predator who attacked me was either crazed or very hungry,” he said, and Yuri’s face morphed into one of concern. This was so much bigger than what he thought.

 

“Don’t worry,” Yuuri said as if reading his mind. “Somehow, someway, I’m going to fix this. There are a few test trials being done on new medications, but first I need to see if I can substantiate my hypothesis. The chemistry team is already trying to synthesize the hormone for their own purposes, so I’ll use that to see if I can get a predator response. I’ll then…”

 

As Yuri listened to Yuuri rattle off his plans now that he wasn’t distracted by the sea of information being dumped on him, he took in the man’s appearance. His eyes had dark rings, and his hair was disheveled. He also seemed to be a bit jittery as his body trembled slightly.

 

“I’m a little behind on my work, so I won’t be able to come back until the day after tomorrow, but-”

 

“Have you slept at all?” Yuri asked, and Yuuri looked at him, confused.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Sleep. Have you done it?” Yuri asked with his eyes narrowed. Yuuri just laughed nervously.

 

“A little, here and there. I just wanted to get to the bottom of this, and now-”

 

“You’re going to sleep.”

 

“Yura,” Yuuri tried, but Yuri practically growled at him.

 

“Save it! You’re no good to anyone as you are right now, and I damn sure don’t want your death on my conscience,” he said, before his anger shifted to worry. “I want this solved too, but not at the cost of your health. It’s not like you personally dumped parasites on us, and you’ve already provided more answers than we have come up with in six years. Get some sleep, Yuuri.”

 

Yuuri stood there looking at Yuri dazedly for several moments. It was taking his brain that long to process that he had been dismissed. It made Yuri’s worry grow.

 

“Come on, I’m taking you back to the surface. I’m also taking over your research project. I don’t want to see you in the water for the next few days, and if you come back down here looking like this again, I’m going to be pissed.”

 

**_16 Days Ago_ **

 

Trial I: Hormone dissolved in water (no blood)

 

After releasing 30 mL of raw hormone into the water, Yuuri and Yuri bolted behind a massive boulder, and waited for the arrival of a predator. After twenty minutes, the trial was concluded. No predators appeared. Yuuri had predicted that this would happen due to the native organism not being able to live outside of a merman host.

 

**_15 Days Ago_ **

 

Trial II: Pure merman blood (no hormone)

 

To keep in line with the first trial, Yuuri removed all traces of hormone from a sample of Yuri’s blood, and then released 30 mL of it into the water to keep in line with trial one. Once again, twenty minutes passed and no predators arrived. Yuuri had predicted this would happen due to the signal being sent that this prey is too strong and dangerous to attack.

 

**_14 Days Ago_ **

 

Trial III: Merman blood saturated with hormone

 

“Yura, I really think they are going to show up this time. I’m going to go alone. It’s too dangerous for you to be around, especially considering we’re using your blood,” Yuuri said, and Yuri instantly scowled.

 

“You’re crazy if you think I’m letting you go alone. I’m a much faster swimmer than you are. I’m going,” he said, and for the first time, he finally saw Yuuri get truly angry.

 

“No, you’re not! I’m not about to knowingly put you in danger when there is no need. I’m not a target. I was attacked that one time, but I was also bleeding. I’ll be fine, so _stay here_ ,” he said, and Yuri just grumpily looked away.

 

The mixture that Yuuri concocted had three times as much hormone concentration than what any of the kids had. He predicted a predator presence, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

 

‘Here goes nothing,’ he thought before squeezing the tube into the water. He then darted behind the boulder, and waited. Before he could barely conceal himself, dozens of predators had shown up. They were filling the area in droves. A startled click made him whip around to see Yuri suspended in the water column, wide-eyed and practically frozen in fear. Immediately, Yuuri looked at the frenzied predators, and then dragged Yuri back to the hideout as fast as his body could move.

 

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Yuuri asked the moment he ripped off his gear. He turned around to see that Yuri was doubled over, breathing heavily, with eyes growing wider by the minute. He clutched at his chest, drawing blood, while his body began to tremble.

 

“Yura!” Yuuri said as he pulled the boy to him. “It’s okay, breathe. It’s okay, we’re both okay. Just focus on breathing.”

 

It seemed like each breath Yuri took in was ripped back away from him as his chest thudded. It didn’t help that the available oxygen was just eighty percent of what was available at the surface. Yuuri quickly came to the conclusion that he’d have to let him use his air tank.

 

After fifteen minutes of breathing in the strange gas mixture, Yuri fell asleep. For the next hour, Yuuri ran his hands through the boy’s hair as he rested his head on his lap. Neither noticed as both was reliving the night they first met, Yuuri in his thoughts and Yuri in his dreams.

 

**_12 Days Ago_ **

 

“After reviewing the literature, there appears to be an oral capsule coded as YZ189 that seems to work really well. The problem is that it has been linked to infertility in some species. It doesn’t affect orcas and dolphins, but humans, seals and sea lions have shown an increase in sperm heads detaching from their tails. The pinnipeds show a ten percent increase, while humans show a thirty percent increase. It’ll serve no purpose to get rid of the parasites only for you to not be able to reproduce,” Yuuri said as he passed the papers over to Yuri. Yuri quickly scanned through them, frowning.

 

“Well, something has to give. Things can’t stay as they are now,” he said.

 

“Hmm, it’s promising that some species can use the drug. The problem is we have no clue what exactly are you. Are you more closely related to orcas, pinnipeds or humans? Or, are you different altogether? I don’t want to just take a shot in the dark, and start testing things. Just my luck, I’ll make it worse,” Yuuri said, as Yuri wondered how could it get any worse than what he saw. He quickly shifted his mind from that thought.

 

“It says here that orcas and dolphins never fully sleep. They only turn off half of their brains at a time. That has to suck. Thankfully, that’s not how we do it,” he said, and Yuuri’s mind ran with it.

 

“I’ve heard that before. If the full brain doesn’t shut off, I doubt they ever get REM sleep. That also means no dreams,” he said.

 

“That’s not always a bad thing,” Yuri said as he picked up the next paper. “After dreaming of an angler fish chasing you a few times, you’ll see the light as well.”

 

“Actually, you’re preaching to the choir. I once had a dream where a clown was chasing me, then out of nowhere I appeared in front of my class with no clothes on. It’s been ten years, and that dream still gets to me,” Yuuri said as he read more on the drug.

 

“I can only imagine. That must have been awful having _that_ revealed to everyone. That’s worse than the angler,” Yuri said, and Yuuri froze.

 

“I walked right into that, didn’t I?” He asked.

 

“Yeah, you did, and it was almost too easy, too. But since you laid it out there, I figured I’d oblige,” Yuri said. A second later, they were both laughing. Yuuri made sure to smack Yuri across the head with the paper he was holding.

 

**_10 Days Ago_ **

 

“Yura, we’re getting no closer to unwrapping this puzzle. I think we’re going to have to go for it,” Yuuri said, dejectedly.

 

“I told you that days ago, but you insisted on reading all of this useless shit. Humans can’t classify a species they don’t know exist,” Yuri said, and Yuuri just sighed louder.

 

“Are you ready to be a guinea pig?” He asked.

 

“I have no clue what the hell that is, but if that means what I think it does, let’s do this.”

 

“Alright then. We’ll use you to see how the drug affects your sperm supply. I already ordered it days ago, so I have it on standby. I’ll first need to get a base count. I’ll drop off a sample cup tomorrow, then pick it up the day after.”

 

**_7 Days Ago_ **

 

“Um, Yura, I don’t know how to say this in a good way, but-”

 

“Just spit it out!” Yuri said, irritated. After everything he had been through the past few weeks, he was prepared to hear any and everything, even if that was that he had mere minutes to live.

 

“You’re kind of… shooting blanks,” Yuuri said as his face colored. Yuri deadpanned.

 

“What?” He asked after a moment, annoyed.

 

“You have no sperm, like _zero_. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Yuuri said, and then Yuri colored.

 

“Thanks! I’ve always been one of a kind,” he said with no gratitude in his voice. Yuuri turned redder.

 

“I brought some more sample cups if you want to try again,” he said, then flinched before making his next statement. “It may be a good idea to let someone else try, too.”

 

“Someone else?! How the hell am I supposed to just get someone else’s jizz?” Yuri yelled.

 

“I have faith in you. I’ve learned to never doubt you,” Yuuri said with a smile, and it took everything in Yuri not to hit him.

 

‘That bastard is using my own words against me,’ Yuri thought wryly.

 

**_5 Days Ago_ **

 

“Okay, I call bullshit! That sample came from Nikita, Lera’s father, so we both know that he’s not _shooting blanks_ ,” Yuri said when he was told the results of Yuuri’s analysis.

 

“I’m telling you Yura, I searched diligently throughout that sample. Not even one was there,” Yuuri said. He then processed Yuri’s words, before turning rounded eyes onto him. “How did you get that sample?”

 

“Don’t look at me like that! I challenged the bastard to a contest to see who could fill the cup the fastest. He used to try to bully me when we were kids, so I knew he’d go for it,” Yuri said, before getting back to the matter at hand. “Are you sure you’re doing it right?”

 

“Of course I am! It doesn’t take a genius to place things on a slide and then look at them under a microscope,” Yuuri said.

 

“Well something’s got to be up, because Nikita is not sterile. He has a brand new kid for fuck’s sake, so he’s hiding some sperm somewhere!”

 

Upon hearing that, Yuuri’s eyes lit up like fireflies.

 

“Yura, you’re a genius,” he said, making Yuri quirk his eyebrow while giving him an incredulous look.

 

“What now?”

 

“Think about it!” Yuuri said excitedly. “From what we’ve seen, instead of being proactive like a human’s body, your bodies are reactive. It’s likely due to evolving under deep sea conditions. You can’t afford to waste any energy, so you don’t.

 

“We’ve seen that in your white blood cells. Unlike humans who produce thousands per microliter of blood from the point of our inception, you guys only start producing them when you have to. I think it’s the same in reproduction. Human males create millions of sperm on the off chance we’ll need them. Even the women release a mature egg every month. You guys probably only release them when you have a cue that you should. I noticed in that semen you gave me that there was a weird hormone and enzyme floating around. I’m guessing, the females have the counterpart. Without it, you’ll just shoot blanks, and conserve the sperm you have already created.”

 

“Hmm, that makes sense,” Yuri said, feeling a bit more amiable at the thought of his male pride being restored. “So how in the hell are we going to test the drug?”

 

“I’m way ahead of you. I’ll need you to get another small sample of blood from a mature female. I’ll then have the hormone synthesized.”

 

**_Present Time_**

 

“Let me get this straight, you want to stick a needle through my tail, and into my balls in order to extract a sperm sample?” Yuri asked as he glared at the man standing nervously, yet determinedly, in front of him. He didn’t look like he was going to back down, but it wasn’t _his_ balls on the line.

 

“What the hell happened to hormone synthesis? I know that plans can change, but I’m going to need a better explanation than that. You should know by now that there’s no way in hell that I’m going to just roll with that plan,” Yuri said as he crossed his arms for good measure. He was firmly convinced that the other Yuuri had cracked.

 

“Come on, Yura. You too should know me by now. I’m not just doing this on a whim. The synthesis didn’t work, so this is the best option,” Yuuri said, just as annoyed and uncomfortable. Something in the way he moved his eyes and the phrasing of his response made Yuri narrow his.

 

“You’re hiding something,” he said with calculated heat in his voice. For the briefest moment, Yuuri looked shocked, and color filled his face. Then, as if willing it away, the flames receded. His efforts weren't lost on Yuri.

 

“You just said that extraction is the best option, not the only option. If it were the only option, you would have said that. What’s the other option?” He asked, and Yuuri’s face exploded in color.

 

“There really is no other option,” Yuuri said, and Yuri just shot him a look that said, _“Seriously?”_

 

“Why do you even bother trying to lie? We’ve already established that you’re shit at controlling your face. The same day you taught me how to play poker, I beat you eleven times in a row. If you can’t pull it off when the stakes are low, what makes you think you can do it when they’re high?” He asked. Yuuri immediately looked off to the side, face practically purple.

 

“Spill it,” Yuri said, and Yuuri just let out a tired sigh.

 

“They were able to synthesize the responding female hormone and enzyme, but they weren’t able to stabilize them. The enzyme changes conformation shape when exposed to the enzymes on your hands, and when they change shape, the female hormone starts to degrade,” Yuuri explained.

 

“So basically, they can’t be handled,” Yuri said, and Yuuri nodded.

 

“The only way they can be used is with gloves, but due to your spikes and webbed fingers, you can’t wear gloves.”

 

“But you can.”

 

At that, both males colored darkly, then turned their gazes away from each other.

 

“That’s why I said extraction in the best option. I can use a local anaesthetic, and get a sample in minutes. You’ll feel a little pressure, but that’s it,” Yuuri said as he looked at the merman with hopeful eyes. He was met with a cold glare.

 

“You are not sticking a big ass needle into my balls, so give it up,” Yuri said in finality.

 

“But Yura-”

 

“But, nothing! You don’t get to choose which procedure we’re using. These are _my_ balls we’re talking about here! Do you have the hormone?” Yuri asked.

 

“Not with me, no,” Yuuri said in surprise.

 

“Well, gather your shit. I’m taking you to the surface so that you can go get it,” Yuri said as he started putting Yuuri’s things away.

 

“Now? You want to do it right now?” Yuuri asked in near panic mode.

 

“Yes, now. I want to hurry up and get this over with. Believe me, I’m looking forward to this even less than you are.”

 

**_One Hour Later_ **

 

“Um, where do I start?” Yuuri asked as he stared down at the small opening in front of him. He knew that his goal was inside, but he had no clue how to get it out.

 

“Why are you such an idiot?” Yuri asked as his own face darkened. He then placed Yuuri’s gloved hand over his opening. “Keep your hand here. If it comes out and there is nothing for it to come in contact with, it’ll start searching.”

 

Yuuri knew exactly what searching meant, having experienced it firsthand, so he did as he was told. He then noticed that Yuri was trembling slightly. He didn’t know if it was due to fear, embarrassment, or pure adrenaline. One thing was for sure, it wasn’t excitement. The boy had an arm thrown over his eyes, and he was the reddest he’d ever seen him. His face rivaled his mother’s best garden tomatoes.

 

‘What did I do last time?’ Yuuri thought. He couldn’t recall anything special, so he just started exploring. He couldn’t help but to admire the smoothness of the tail, and the level of musculature it had. He could practically feel the striations under the skin.

 

‘It’s amazing something so large can come out of something so small,’ Yuuri thought as he made it up to the genital opening. It was pulsating slightly, so he traced it with his thumb. Yuri instantly took in a surprised gulp of air.

 

“Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Yuuri asked quickly, and received a glare from under Yuri’s arm.

 

“Dear God! Would you please stop talking to me?” He said while covering his face even more, making Yuuri glare at him.

 

‘He didn’t have to say it like that,’ he thought as he rubbed the opening again. The more he interacted with it, the more vocal Yuri became even though the boy did everything in his power to stay mute.

 

‘I wonder if I can just pull it out with my finger?’ Yuuri thought as he pushed the tip of his finger into the hole. Immediately, Yuri let out a moan as his penis shot out and coiled up Yuuri’s arm up to his elbow. It seemed to squeeze and writhe on its own as if it had a second brain. Yuuri was alright with that considering he was expecting it. What he wasn’t okay with was its position.

 

‘Not good!’ He thought as it began leaking copious amounts of seminal fluid onto his elbow. He needed the sample to go into the cup, not onto him.

 

‘Maybe I can turn it around?’ He thought frantically. He didn’t want to try engaging Yuri again. He had already made it abundantly clear that he was checking out of the situation, and considering how he had twisted his body to muffle any further sound with the ground, he was dealing with his own dilemma.

 

‘Okay, here goes nothing,’ Yuuri thought as he used his other hand to wrap just under the head. With a gentle tug, it immediately coiled around the other arm in the proper position, allowing Yuuri to breathe a sigh of relief.

 

‘That was close,’ he thought, finally able to focus on the matter at hand. It seemed it was already doing most of the work, and for a moment Yuuri was envious that his own penis didn’t just go on autopilot, letting him mindlessly enjoy.

 

‘Katsuki Yuuri, let that thought die,’ he scolded, before deciding to assist the wayward genitals. While applying more pressure to the base of the head with his left hand, he firmly stroked the head and its flaps with his right, increasing friction as he went. Yuri let out a high frequency whistle-click, and then instantly silenced himself with great difficulty, if the extension of his spikes into the sediment was anything to go by. Out of courtesy, Yuuri kept his eyes averted from the boy’s face and focused on his own task. He couldn’t help but to notice that a merman’s penis was more oval shaped than round. He also noticed that it leaked seminal fluid the entire time it was engaged.

 

‘I guess that makes sense. If it were connected to a female’s ovary, it would be bathing it in hormones and enzymes,’ he thought as an idea came to him. ‘Their bodies are never wasteful. I wonder what would have if I increase the dosage?’

 

He then one-handedly opened the bottle and poured the remaining fluid onto the head; almost instantly the leaking fluid changed from grayish clear in color to milk white. He took the head in between his fingers, trapping the flaps on the other side, and massaged vigorously. Less than a minute later, Yuri’s body went rigid as he twisted, writhed and contorted, fighting the release of sounds all the while. He was largely successful, but a few of those sounds would be forever burned into Yuuri’s memory, much to his chagrin.

 

“Fuck,” Yuri whispered, and that too was added to Yuuri's mental vault. The merman then went limp, and his penis recoiled back into his sheath. With the last bit of his strength, Yuri turned onto his side, facing away from Yuuri as he worked to control his breathing.

 

‘Okay, now what?’ Yuuri thought as the deed was done, leaving nothing but the underlying awkwardness to come to the surface. ‘Should I just cap off the sample, and go analyze it?’

 

For some reason, that thought didn’t sit well with him. It actually made him feel sick. Slinking away in the guise of work felt like what he’d imagined a one night stand would feel like. He couldn’t even treat it as research work. He’d had to do some questionable things in the past for the sake of science, but those creatures didn’t laugh and joke with him on a daily basis, and they didn't discuss their dreams and goals with him. This was way different. He didn’t just collect a sample from a merman. He engaged in some weird sexual encounter with a friend that just happened to be a merman. With that thought in mind, he capped the sample, then rested on his back, close to Yuri, but not touching him.

 

“Aren’t you going to analyze that?” Yuri asked. He didn’t sound any special kind of way, just curious more or less.

 

“Yeah, I will, but there’s no rush. Even if I take a look at it under the microscope, the chem team won’t be in until early morning. I’ll take it in then,” Yuuri said, and Yuri went silent. There was a little awkwardness and tenseness, but it was still companionable.

 

“For the record, I did _not_ sign up for that,” Yuri said after a few minutes, and Yuuri shot a glare in his direction.

 

“And you think I did?!” He asked, incredulous. Finally turning around, Yuri propped his head up on his head.

 

“I swear you’ve been nothing but trouble,” he said.

 

“Same!”

 

At that, both males laughed, and Yuuri finally let himself feel the embarrassment he was trying so desperately to suppress.

 

“Oh God! I cannot believe this is what has become of my life. This is definitely not what little Yuuri imagined he would be doing at twenty-three,” he said, and Yuri cackled at his shame. He was mostly over it, but the other male was having a harder time. He could have fun with this.

 

“Actually, if you-”

 

“Save it!” Yuuri cut him off. Just judging by the boy’s face, he knew he was up to no good.

 

“If it’s alright with you, I say we just forget this ever happened,” Yuuri added, and Yuri gave him a shit-eating grin.

 

“That’s going to be a little hard to do,” Yuri said, and Yuuri’s face dropped like a child learning there was no Santa Claus.

 

“What? Why?”

 

“You clearly didn’t think this through, did you?” Yuri asked, still jovial, but slightly irritated. “The whole point was to test whether or not the drug affected sperm count. That was pre-exposure. You’ll then want immediate exposure, followed by post exposure, right?”

 

Yuuri looked blown away as he mentally conceded that, yes, he needed at least three samples.

 

“And you call yourself a scientist,” Yuri said as he shook his head in mockery and then laughed to himself at Yuuri’s defeated expression.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be prepared next time. I’m giving you some sex ed books so that we don’t have to go through this again. If I have to get molested, I at least want to enjoy it,” Yuri added, and Yuuri glared at him.

 

“I seemed to get you off just fine,” he said, embarrassment momentarily forgotten.

 

“Just barely,” Yuri quipped without missing a beat. Yuuri’s embarrassment instantly returned, and he deflated.

 

“Well, it’s not like I do this everyday,” he said in his defense. Yuri just gave him a peculiar look.

 

“Aren’t you male?” He asked trying to wrap his mind around a guy that didn’t have a daily masturbation session. His face then broke into a smile.

 

“Then again, after seeing what you’re offering, I can see how it wouldn’t have much of an impact on you,” he said, and Yuuri went rigid.

 

“Okay, that is it!” He said, and without warning catapulted himself on top of Yuri, fiercely hitting him. Yuri was too shocked to fight back, so all he could do was guard as he laughed hysterically.

 

“What are you getting mad at me for? It’s not my fault you evolved like that,” he said in between laughs as he fought off a Yuuri who was in warrior mode. He was trying to get the merman in headlocks, strangleholds and every other hold he could think of. It was full on wrestle-mania under the sea. Somehow in the span of sixty-eight minutes, they were able to move past the debilitating awkwardness that other people may have never gotten over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I will say is do not assume where I am taking this story. I can almost guarantee that you'll be wrong. LOL
> 
> I was going to post a few explanations at this point, but I decided to just save that for the editorial I'll post in the notes of the final chapter. I don't want to give anything away!
> 
> I am much more interested in hearing your thoughts on this beast of a chapter, and your thoughts on the story so far!


	6. Under the sea...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery finally gets a resolution, and the duo gets some down time as a reward. 
> 
> This takes place about three weeks after chapter 5.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, it's been forever. Life happened to the tenth power so I had to dip. I didn't even realize I was on hiatus until several months into it, that's how crazy things got. LOL
> 
> Anyhow, I am back now. I feel exceptionally rusty with this fic even after rereading all of the chapters. The struggle is still on!
> 
> Oh yeah, this chapter has not been proofread to my normal standards. I tried, but I'm tired, so I know I missed some stuff. I'll try to catch them all after my brain is not mush.

‘Slow,’ Yuri mouthed to Yuuri as he grabbed the man’s arm, and then practically drug him through the water column. Water bubbles and brightly colored jellyfish swiftly glided by them as Yuuri was bombarded with the sounds of squeals, whistles and squeaks.

 

‘Wow! They’re lively today,’ he thought as he processed the various merman calls. The noise level made him feel like he was in a packed auditorium. Yuri, on the other hand, didn’t seem the least bit fazed.

 

‘Where on Earth is he taking me?’ Yuuri thought as the merman enthusiastically zipped in a direction that was definitely not towards their hideout.

 

‘Wherever it is, I hope it’s leading to good news,’ Yuuri thought as he let himself be pulled along.

 

**_18 days ago_ **

 

“Yura, they’re amoeboid! The drug can’t affect them!” Yuuri exclaimed the minute he could rip his air gear off his head. Utterly confused by the man’s exuberance, Yuri simply quirked his eyebrow while looking confounded.

 

“Wha?” he mumbled.

 

“I’m talking about the sperm, merman sperm!” Yuuri shouted. “Unlike every other animal on the planet, your sperm lack flagella. YZ189 cleaves through the mitochondrion which separates the flagellum from the head, making the sperm immobile. You guys lack flagella altogether, which actually makes sense. Every other animal’s sperm have to travel to reach the ovaries, but you guys directly attach to them. Based on that, it seems your oddly efficient bodies have somehow evolved to stop making flagella. This means the drug can’t possibly reduce your fertility, at least not in any way we’ve previously seen,” Yuuri quickly explained. As the explanation rapidly sunk in, Yuri’s eyes grew wider and more hopeful.

 

“Hell yeah! How long do you think it’ll take to get enough for everyone?” He asked, causing Yuuri to pump the brakes on his own excitement.

 

“Whoa, hold on. We still need to test it and make sure it isn’t toxic or harmful to your symbionts. I don’t want to rush into this, and do more harm than good,” he said. Yuri immediately started grumbling something colorful in his native tongue.

 

“Stop that. You know I’m right,” Yuuri said softly, yet the merman continued to squeak before waving him off.

 

“Yeah, yeah. You have everything with you?” He asked, and Yuuri nodded. “Alright, let’s do this while we’re still alive.”

 

Not caring for the wording considering the situation, Yuuri ignored him and took a pre-exposure blood sample, a saliva sample, his heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level and temperature. He then retook all of the measurements one hour post exposure.

 

“That should be good for now. I’ll come back in two days to take the forty-eight hour sample. That won’t give us much information on long-term effects, but it’ll at least give me a peace of mind that I’m not administering the equivalent of cyanide to you guys,” he said as he worriedly looked over his finned friend. He already knew that this was going to be a long forty-eight hours if his anxiety had anything to do with it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t come back to a deceased merman.

 

**_16 days ago_ **

 

“Yura, are you in here?” Yuuri called out as he entered the hideout. He spotted the merman sleeping on the rock ledge, and started removing the rest of his equipment. He was supposed to arrive later in the evening/morning, but his thoughts had gotten the better of him.

 

‘His chest is moving, so at the very least he’s not dead,’ Yuuri thought as he approached him. The minute he got within ten feet of Yuri, the merman’s eyes shot open in alarm, before shifting to recognition, then finally lowering in anger. Wordlessly, he snatched the carrying case, took his own measurements and samples, then forced Yuuri back into his equipment. Before the man could get a word in edgewise, he was back at the surface.

 

“Once again, you look like death. Go the fuck to sleep!” Yuri yelled, then disappeared back under the sea. It took several moments for Yuuri to process that he had been kicked out.

 

**_15 days ago_ **

 

“Alright, so what’s the score?” Yuri asked after a more refreshed looking Yuuri appeared.

 

“Everything seems to have checked out! Your vitals looked good and your symbiont count is unchanged, yet there was a significant drop in parasite load. I think we can move to the next step,” Yuuri said, confusing Yuri.

 

“Next step?” He asked.

 

“Yeah, the next step. Everything checked out with you, but your physiology is vastly different between pre-metamorphosis and post-metamorphosis, and it is the juveniles who will be on the line. I want to test it on one of them before widely distributing it. I already feel like crap that I’m possibly putting kids in danger behind their parents’ backs,” Yuuri said, making Yuri ponder it. When put like that, he didn’t care for the setup either. It was one thing to use himself as a “guinea pig,” and another thing entirely to use someone else.

 

“I’ll fill in Pashka. He’s the closest to maturity, so I’ll let him know what’s up, and then let him decide if he wants in. If not, I’ll go down the line,” Yuri said.

 

**_13 days ago_ **

 

The first thing Yuuri noticed when he entered the hidden grotto was that Yuri was not alone. Sitting beside him was Pashka, and he had his game face on.

 

“I read over all of your findings so far, and it makes perfect sense. My only question is how would we prevent reinfestation? If the parasite is coming from the very waters we swim in, it seems unavoidable, or am I wrong? Are they in something that we’re eating, instead? I don’t see how that could be when we don’t eat the round goby… unless it’s moving through the food chain,” he said, and Yuuri shifted his wide eyed gaze from the boy to Yuri.

 

“I figured it would be easier to just give the brat your notes and let him draw his own conclusions,” the elder merman said, and Yuuri just nodded. Apparently, Yuri thought he was questioning his info transmission methods, when in reality he was just dumbfounded that a prepubescent child could understand his work better than his own parents ever did.

 

‘We definitely wouldn’t win if we had to compete with them for control of the land,’ he thought, before shaking himself out of his stupor.

 

“Considering it is a blood parasite, it is most definitely traveling through the food web. Based on your diet, this is a classic case of biomagnification. Because it is so prevalent, I don’t think a change in diet would help anything. To prevent reinfestation you would have to remain inoculated throughout your juvenile phase. I’m unsure of how much drug that translates out to, or if it will even cause a significant change long-term, but that’s my hypothesis at the moment,” he said, and the boy nodded firmly.

 

“You’re still in?” Yuri asked, and he nodded once more.

 

**_10 days ago_ **

 

“Okay Pashka, your forty-eight hour checkup looks good. Your vitals and symbionts are stable, and there is already a marked decrease in the parasite. Considering I gave you the lowest effective dose per kilogram of body weight, that’s promising. I’m actually tempted to increase it, but I have no data on how long YZ189 will remain in your tissues and bloodstream, so I don’t want to overload you. How do you feel?” Yuuri asked, and the boy just stared at him with a far off look. He clearly was in his own world.

 

“I’m going to get to go outside again. It’s been so long,” he mumbled distractedly, making Yuuri frown.

 

“Well, that’s the plan, but don’t get your hopes up just yet. It’s looking good so far, but it’s still very early,” he said, and was met with a smile that was missing several pegs.

 

**5 days ago**

 

“Guys… I think things may play out even better than we expected,” Yuuri spoke as if he was in a trance. He passed his reports to Yuri who quickly flipped through them, eyes widening as he went along. Quickly, they were passed to Pashka, who rapidly soaked in the info then looked dazedly at Yuuri.

 

“There’s no way I could have predicted this. In just a week your parasite load has dropped by ninety percent. I knew it couldn’t possibly be the drug because it has never shown that high of an effective rate, so I reanalyzed your blood. Upon closer inspection, it became obvious. Your body has started to make antibodies against the parasite. Apparently, your body was too taxed to properly address it, but when it got a moment’s reprieve from the drug, it took over. This means that instead of continuous inoculation, kids may be able to receive a single dose at the onset of weaning and be free of the parasite altogether,” Yuuri said, and immediately the two merman started whistling and clicking. They then jumped in the water and began breaching, making Yuuri glance furtively at his first aid kit. It was only a matter of time before somebody hit his head on the rocks above them.

 

“Um guys…” Yuuri tried, but they both turned and zipped out of the grotto, leaving Yuuri to rapidly reattach his air gear to chase after them. Once he entered the open water, he realized he had swam right into a large mass of bubble rings and nearly floated up to the surface against his will. Only him being grabbed and swiftly tossed between the two mermen stopped his ascent. It was at this moment he realized that they would be useless until they calmed down, so he unwittingly allowed himself to play the role of beach ball for the next twelve minutes.

 

***

 

“Now, the question is how do we get the antidote to the kids without drawing suspicion? Yura, I could easily give it to you and have you administer it, but without the general populace knowing there has been a change, it wouldn’t do any good,” Yuuri said as all three of them sat in a circle, contemplating.

 

“At this point, I’m just about ready to tell them the truth. I’m tired of all this secrecy anyway,” Yuri said, making Pashka fiercely shake his head.

 

“That won’t work and you know it. Exposing yourself to a human is a breach of the highest law,” he said.

 

“A human that just saved their kids’ lives! If they still have something to say after that, they can eat it,” Yuri said. Pashka looked worriedly at Yuuri.

 

“No, Pashka’s right. They won’t see it as a good thing. I secretly entered their society and experimented on their kids. The outcome may have been good, but it could have easily gone another way. Besides, I don’t want any recognition. I just want to correct my people's mistake, and go back to my life as a simple scientist,” Yuuri said. For several long moments the two Yuri stared at one another, until Yuri looked away with a sigh.

 

“What do you have in mind?” He asked, making Yuuri pull back into his mind for a minute.

 

“We have to find a way for them to _find_ the antidote. If they can somehow come across the evidence along with a bottle of YZ891, that should be enough to get them talking,” he finally said, and the room went silent.

 

“There’s a sunken ship about a kilometer north of the dam. Humans sometimes explore it, so it’s still active. Maybe we can plant it there?” Pashka said after several minutes.

 

“And just how do you know this? You’ve been on lockdown,” Yuri asked, while giving the boy a hard look.

 

“Pyotr told me!” Said boy quickly blurted.

 

“Hmm, that could work. I can say I came across the notes, and then tested it out on you. It’s not too far from the truth anyway. Considering how much I’ve been hanging around you brats, they shouldn’t even question it,” Yuri said, and Pashka let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Well, obviously, I can’t present my notes as is. Give me a day to rewrite everything so that it looks like I was studying something else. There’s already enough published material to make it look believable,” Yuuri said, and Yuri nodded.

 

“After that, stay low for a while. When they get word of this, my people are going to be ready to investigate. If we’re seen by your divers all hell will break loose,” Yuri said.

 

“Indeed. How long did you have in mind?” Yuuri asked.

 

“A week should do it,” Yuri said and Yuuri was shaking his head before he could finish his sentence.

 

“It’s approaching the end of the field season, so my advisor is pushing for daily dives. The most I can convince him is three or four days and that’s only because we’ve had a very productive season,” Yuuri said.

 

“Fine, three days it is. Drop that date somewhere in your notes so that I can have solid evidence that humans will be in the area by then,” Yuri said. A firm nod was his response. Now came the trickiest part.

 

**_Present Time_ **

 

“Jeez, whatever we were running from, I hope we lost it,” Yuuri said jokingly after pulling off his gear. He was out of breath even though he wasn’t even the one controlling his body.

 

“Running? What the hell are you on about?” Yuri asked, and then spoke before Yuuri could answer. “Everything went better than we planned. They were so interested in the antidote they didn’t even question me about experimenting on Paskha. In fact, they’ve already started administering it to the other kids.”

 

“Huh? Why so suddenly?” Yuuri asked, puzzled.

 

“We don’t have a lot of time. This region freezes over during winter so the kids will have to be moved sooner or later. Last year, nearly a quarter were wiped out during migration. If things return to normal, the predators will be lucky to get even one,” Yuri said, getting Yuuri excited.

 

“That’s great! Now that’s something to celebrate!”

 

“Yeah, it is,” Yuri said, before flashing a smile Yuuri hadn’t seen before. “But something else has happened that wasn’t expected. Do you hear that?” He asked, and the cave went quiet.

 

“Actually," Yuuri started, and then paused to make sure, "I don’t hear anything.”

 

Gone were the gregarious clicks and squeals with nothing but dead silence to replace it. Yuuri looked at Yuri inquisitively and received a toothy grin.

 

“Exactly. Now that they think humans are regularly visiting this area, they have temporarily moved inward. We have this entire area to ourselves,” Yuri said, openly exuberant. Yuuri didn’t share his enthusiasm.

 

“Uh, Yura, humans really do visit this area. They may not be frequent, but they come here, at least that’s what Pashka said.”

 

He was rewarded with an eye roll for his concern.

 

“Don’t worry about it. I know these seas better than any human, so I’ll never be seen unless I want to be. Are you going to explore with me, or are you going to nag?” Yuri asked, and all Yuuri could do was give a resigned glare.

 

“Fine, but it better be something worth seeing since you drug me out here,” he said with mock heat in his voice, then softened it with a smile. That was Yuri’s cue to grab his arm once again as he darted around. Yuuri was surprised to discover there were three caves he had completely overlooked during his dives. By the time he finished taking pictures, his battery was just about dead. Yuri wouldn’t like it, but he was planning to kick him out tomorrow so that he and his crew could collect samples. Hell, he may even need two days if he wanted to include the trenches that seemed to be filled with bioluminescent organisms.  

 

“Well, was it worth your time?” Yuri asked sarcastically as they rested in a grotto that was lined with those same bioluminescent creatures.

 

“It was passing, but I’m exhausted now,” Yuuri said, and got an incredulous look shot his way.

 

“How the hell are you tired when you didn’t even do any work?” Yuri asked. A yawn-filled reply was his answer.

 

“The pressure is taxing on a human body.”

 

“Weak, just weak.”

 

“Ah, shut up.”

 

With that said, they rested in silence for nearly an hour. What Yuuri now colloquially referred to as “sea light bulbs” flickered in random patterns, reminding him of Christmas lights.

 

“I used to sneak out here all the time before the predators went nuts. It’s one of the few places you can think in peace without all of the noise,” Yuri said after a while. “Looking up at this ceiling reminds me of the stars. Oddly, that’s one of the things I remember about that night. We were waiting for what I now know are called fireworks, so we stared at the sky.”

 

“I was actually watching the stars that night, too. It was my first time under Russia’s sky, so I wanted to see if it was different from my own,” Yuuri added.

 

“Was it?”

 

“I don’t know. I haven’t really looked up since.”

 

Flipping over onto his stomach, Yuri looked at the man peculiarly.

 

“Why the hell not? You live on land, and it’s right above your head.”

 

For a long moment, Yuuri pondered that. Why did he stop looking up?

 

‘Because I’m always looking down,’ he finally thought. Since that night, the seas seemed to call to him more loudly. In a few short months since meeting the merman the reason may have changed, but it called just the same.

 

“I swear you humans take everything for granted,” Yuri huffed after not getting an answer, making Yuuri laugh at the heat he felt directed at the top of his head.  

 

“You’re one to talk, you’re taking things for granted right now,” Yuuri said as he lifted his hand up high. “At least you can touch these stars.”

 

“Too easy. I want a challenge,” Yuri said softly, and all went quiet again.

 

‘A challenge, huh?’ Yuuri thought as he looked over the boy. It seemed the most fitting thing for Yuri to say. He was the same guy who spoke of driving even though he has no legs or feet.

 

“You know, Yura, you’re not exempt. We haven’t conquered the skies just yet, so it’s not as if it belongs solely to us. You’re kind of sitting under it, too,” Yuuri finally said, before he remembered exactly where they were.

 

“Just promise me you won’t go reaching too recklessly,” he added.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yuri asked, thoroughly confused.

 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that we’re sitting in a cave near a wreckage where humans visit. Your impulsiveness is going to turn me into an insomniac,” Yuuri said as Yuri looked at him with wide eyes.

 

“You’re still on that?! Jeez,” he said as he covered his face with his hand in shock and exasperation.

 

“I am. I don’t want to turn on my TV and see your face plastered all over it,” Yuuri said, and Yuri just shook his head.

 

“Fine! I won’t come here unless I bring my spikeless, fangless, slow swimming, weak bodyguard that will somehow magically dispel all humans. Will that make you feel better, Sir?” Yuri asked, and they just stared at each other.

 

“Actually, it would. As a human, I know how to get rid of other humans. At the very least, I can distract them while you get away. You really shouldn’t be out here alone, and I doubt any other merman would be crazy enough to come out here with you,” Yuuri finally said.

 

“As if I'd bring them to my top secret hideout. You invite one, and then everybody would start showing up," Yuri harrumphed. "That's if they're even brave enough to venture this close to a wreckage," he added. The blank look he received made him practically hear Katsuki's thoughts.

 

_'My point, exactly.'_

 

"Fine!"

 

“Good. I’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll likely be south of here in the morning,” Yuuri said.

 

“I’m surprised you’re not bringing them here. I've seen your samples, and I know it's stuff here that you don't have.”

 

Yuuri thought about it for a moment, frowned at whatever he was pondering, then shook his head.

 

“Nah, my advisor doesn’t need to have access to every part of my life. He already has plenty of samples.”

 

With that statement, Yuri gave him a quirked smile, and they returned their gazes back to the sea lights. It had been a long few weeks.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel that this chapter may be a bit confusing. There is a lot of disjointedness in the characterization, and a lot of it was intended, but still. This chapter really needs the next chapter to make sense in my opinion. Obviously, you haven't read the next chapter, but can you tell? I'm curious if other people can pick up on what I'm talking about. I rewrote certain parts because it didn't give enough, but now I feel I gave away too much of the next chapter. I finally decided to just stop, and post it. SMH


	7. What lies behind those green eyes...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri learns more about Yuri than he ever imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first thought of this story, chapters 1 and 7-12 were what I had in mind. But, like two isolated mountains, there was no way to get from chapter 1 to this chapter. Hence the birth of chapters 2-6. Those are what I call my bridge chapters, which made them a bit rough to write, because I couldn't miss anything or I'd be hanging when I got to these chapters. We've finally crossed the bridge!
> 
> This takes place about two weeks after chapter 6. 
> 
> Same as the previous, this was edited while I was tired. Please forgive any glaring mistakes. I'll catch them at my next read through.

“What is this again?” Yuri asked, looking puzzled at the image on the camera.

 

“The Great Pyramid of Giza,” Yuuri said, while leaning over the merman’s shoulder.

 

“And _this_ is supposed to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World?”

 

If the voice wasn’t enough, the face more than showed that Yuri was not impressed.

 

“I think this one has more going for it,” he added as he clicked to an image of the Burj Khalifa.

 

“I’m sure many people would agree with you,” Yuuri replied amicably even though he wasn’t one of them.

 

‘I should have known he’d admire all of the gaudy stuff,’ he thought as he laughed to himself. That’s exactly why he stayed up an extra hour transferring hundreds of photos from various sites to his advisor’s six-thousand-dollar deep sea camera that he was supposed to be strictly using for research.

 

‘Note to self: remove all inappropriate images before the camera is returned. I won’t be able to explain why the Taj Mahal is sitting in between photos of kelp and barnacles,’ he thought as Yuri flicked from Machu Picchu to the Eiffel Tower.

 

“Have you ever been to this one?” He asked.

 

“That’s the Grand Canyon; it’s in America. I haven’t been yet, but it’s on my wishlist,” Yuuri said.

 

“Hmm…”

 

For over two hours this went on. Yuuri strained to keep up with the merman’s enthusiasm, but his neck could only stay in one position for so long, especially at that pressure. Furthermore, it was all old hat to him; he had personally selected each picture.

 

‘I’ll rest my head for a bit. If Yura needs my input that badly, I’m sure I’ll hear about it,’ he thought as he laid back, getting a nearly panoramic view of the cave.

 

‘What’s that all about? Why is it so dark by the entrance? It's already nighttime, so it can’t be from the sun getting blocked.’

 

Puzzled, Yuuri focused his gaze on the lower opening and watched as the shadow got even bigger. Moments later a merman appeared and he was **huge**.

 

“Hey, what is this one…” Yuri trailed off after catching sight of Yuuri’s wide eyes. All at once, his sense of smell and sound kicked in, and he froze, not bothering to turn towards the newcomer.

 

“Um, Yura,” Yuuri whispered but didn’t say more. He was mesmerized by the male that had just entered. At easily eight feet tall, he got his answer; mermaids do in fact grow proportionately. The guy’s head, hands, neck, chest, waist... everything, was massive. It was like watching a living statue. Poseidon himself may as well have just entered, and the long, streaked tresses of silver and black-blue didn’t hurt the image.

 

“I-” Yuuri started, and was abruptly cut off as the male let out a guttural click, his eyes trained on Yuri. Finally unthawed, Yuri turned and met his gaze head on. For the next few moments, squeals and clicks bounced off the rock walls while Yuuri looked back and forth, entranced. The spell was broken, however, when the male said something and then moved in his direction. Instantly, Yuri jumped in front of him, eyes glowing and spikes elongated. Still as stone, the male stared at Yuri, unblinkingly. He then spread his arms wide, and gave a low call as one of his eyebrows quirked. Yuuri didn’t need a translator for that; the meaning was loud and clear.

 

_“You’d attack me?”_

 

At once, a look of horror flew across Yuri’s face as he deflated. He then let out a slew of high pitched whistles that was just this side of pain to Yuuri’s ears. The male gave one abrupt click. Whatever it meant, Yuri didn’t like it because he fiercely shook his head, letting off another series of whistles. He got the same response, prompting him to move closer to the male. The whistles were now punctuated with squeaks. Before he was even finished, he got the same response. This time it was harsher in sound. At that, he lowered his head. He wore an expression Yuuri had never seen on him before. It made him look even younger than his fifteen years.

 

“Yura,” Yuuri called softly, but didn’t get a reply. The boy simply dove into the waters, leaving him alone with the elder merman. Immediately realizing this, Yuuri jerked his head towards the male and saw that his gaze was locked on him. He quickly scrambled back as far as he could.

 

“Please, forgive the intrusion. My name is Nikolai, and I am Yurochka’s grandfather,” the male spoke amiably, but Yuuri couldn’t seem to find his words. It didn’t appear to bother Nikolai very much.

 

“I came here tonight, because I felt it imperative that I speak with you," he said.

 

“You came... to just speak with me?” Yuuri asked in surprise and confusion after regaining control of his tongue.

 

“Yes,” Nikolai said with a nod. “First and foremost, I want to give my deepest thanks for you not only saving my grandson many moons ago, but also for what you did for my people. The others may be unaware, but I am not. I cannot thank you enough.”

 

Too shocked to give a proper “you welcome” for such lavish praise, Yuuri blurted the first thing that came to mind.

 

“You know?!” He asked, prompting Nikolai to give him a crooked smile.

 

“My grandson may think that he’s exceedingly stealthy, but I’ve been trailing him for some time,” he said, and Yuuri balked. Never again did he want to hear the smaller merman’s claims of superior evasive tactics again. If he couldn’t see something that big following him, he could forget spotting a human.

 

“I am fortunate that it was me trailing and not someone else,” Nikolai added as if he had heard his thoughts. “Had it been any other merperson, the punishment would have been swift, and by all laws, there would have been nothing I could do to stop it.”

 

Nikolai spoke so solemnly that if Yuuri hadn’t known better, he would have thought they _had_ been caught.

 

“What’s the punishment?” He asked.

 

“Death, to the human and the merman,” Nikolai said plainly, and Yuuri’s entire body went numb. He knew that there would be consequences if they were ever caught, but he never guessed the stakes were that high. He never would have put Yuri or himself in so much danger had he known.

 

‘And he was going to outright tell them he had been interacting with me!’ He thought.

 

“I… didn’t know,” he said out loud.

 

“There is much you don’t know,” Nikolai said. Yuuri couldn’t help but to feel small even though the male hadn’t spoken the words in malice or disdain.

 

“It may not be obvious after spending so much time with my grandson, but we are an extremely social bunch. If you catch one of us, you’re likely to catch us all. We may not congregate in close proximity, but we are never out of touch. The rule against humans was made to stop us from getting wiped out,” Nikolai said, and Yuuri’s eyes lowered on their own accord. “It is necessary, but no one enjoys it. It is double-pronged due to the bonds we form.

 

“Loss affects us so deeply that it is not uncommon for my people to stress themselves out to the point of permanent sterility after the death of a loved one. Insanity, physical illness and even death itself is also common,” Nikolai added, before his gaze turned distant. “It is why I still look back to the events from eleven years ago, and thank every deity who is willing to listen.”

 

For long moments, both males took in the silence, and let their minds wonder.

 

“I’ll never forget that night,” Yuuri finally said.

 

“Neither will I... nor Yurochka, or any of my kind who was alive during that time,” Nikolai said softly. “The sea will harden even the softest heart, but it was a gruesome night even by our standards. A four-year-old boy watched his parents get sliced apart and eaten, and then had to swim through their blood. Many adults have emotionally succumbed to far less, so by all laws, my grandson shouldn’t be here, yet he is. It has made him a bit famous, which I’m positive he resents.”

 

Yuuri wasn’t sure what evidence Nikolai had for that statement, but whatever it was, it made the merman chuckle.

 

“I, too, shy away from the sensational side of things. Even so, I can’t help but to hypothesize how he beat the odds. I’m now firmly convinced it was linked to you,” Nikolai said as he gave Yuuri a long, warm look. The man immediately began his denial.

 

“You’re giving me a bit too much credit!” He said, waving his hands. “I was trying to save a drowning kid that I now know wasn’t even drowning. If the predators had wanted him badly enough, I don’t think I could have outswam them.”

 

Nikolai merely shook his head.

 

“No, by the time you reached him, Yurochka was already mentally fragmenting. No merchild would stay on the surface alone. He knew his parents were gone, because he watched them die. Denial made him stay. Denial and loss of rationale are the first signs in mental decay. I believe what halted it was what we refer to as a misplaced bond.

 

“In times of intense pain, as a last ditch effort we’ve been known to seek out sources of emotional warmth and comfort, abruptly forming new bonds to deal with the loss of other bonds,” he said, and Yuuri recalled the night once more with new eyes. He remembered Yuri looking into his eyes, almost as if he was searching. Then, out of nowhere, he practically melted against him.

 

‘A misplaced bond, huh?’ He thought, finally considering it.

 

“I suspected as much as early as that night. When I attacked you, which I deeply apologize for,” Nikolai started, but Yuuri waved him off, “he raised sheer hell, and I have the scars to prove it.”

 

Nikolai lifted his arm and Yuuri’s eyes immediately went to the streaks flowing down the merman’s arm that matched his own.

 

“He was determined to save you with or without my help, so he chased after you as you sank. I was left with no other choice but to risk returning you to shore or watch my grandson drown and die after all,” Nikolai said as he shook his head, a hint of a smile showing. It quickly wilted.

 

“It all seems so obvious now, but I didn’t have time to give it too much thought then. Once Yurochka saw that you were safe, he lost consciousness for the next three weeks.”

 

“What?!” Yuuri yelled, dismayed. “I thought you said I saved him.”

 

“You did,” Nikolai replied, plainly. “But, he didn’t escape unscathed. The emotional toll on him was quite great. In those first three weeks, it was one thing after another. If it wasn’t the night terrors and hallucinations, it was the seizures. He lost so much weight I feared touching him. Everyone was convinced that he was going to die, but I held out hope. I had already lost my daughter, so hope was all that I had left. Through either luck or a divine act of mercy, he pulled through, but he came out changed.

 

“Before, Yurochka was always smiling, always laughing and craving affection as though starved. After, he was notedly moody, quick-tempered and downright violent at times. It wasn’t uncommon for him to go into a rage and destroy everything in his path, nor was it uncommon for him to have daylong crying spells. Other kids were afraid of him, yet he didn’t care. The boy who once craved being the center of attention would then go to such great lengths to isolate himself that we’ve had to send out search parties to find him. He was the topic of many a closed meeting. More than once the suggestion of humane euthanasia was put forth. Many felt that he was broken and keeping him alive was just extending his suffering.”

 

Pierced by the look in Nikolai’s eyes, Yuuri wondered how many nights the merman stayed awake warring with _himself_ over that decision.

 

“Time has certainly helped temper a lot of his waves, but he’s still a bit too rough around the edges for many... He still remains on the fringes of our society, and has no interest in forming new bonds, but he’s still my Yurochka. Other people may not see it, but he still laughs for me, smiles for me, and shows enthusiasm for so many things,” Nikolai said with a smile, and Yuuri agreed.

 

Looking back with fresh eyes, Yuuri could now see the peculiarities that once evaded him, like no matter how gregarious the merman calls became, Yuri never joined in. He now noticed how he never mentioned anyone other than his grandfather in passing, and how he’d get hostile at the idea of sharing his spaces with others. He also grumbled about babysitting duty, was easily riled, sharp-tongued and overly prickly at times. On the other hand, he deeply cared in his own way. It was he who brought the predator issue to his attention, and then did all the underwater footwork, including the use of his own body. He was also notorious for hiding his worries behind anger, like the many times Yuuri himself had been told off about sleep, or how he grumbled over overly friendly merchildren.

 

“I don’t know how Yura acted before that night, or even immediately after, but based on the guy I know now, I think it was the right call to keep him alive,” Yuuri said, firmly.

 

“He’s happy,” he added, after thinking of the many laughs they shared. Little did he know, those words meant the world to Nikolai. It was like a healing balm placed on an old open wound.

 

“I like to think so,” he said, before shaking his head with a laugh. “Then again, you just may be getting the better side of the ball.”

 

“Huh?” Yuuri asked, confused. ‘Ball?’

 

“I’ll accept him in any form,” Nikolai said, “but it would still delight this old merman’s heart to see him live a bit more, love a bit more. I saw some changes in him earlier in the year, and got a bit excited. Imagine my surprise when the zest I saw was due to not only a human, but the same human from long ago. My hair wasn’t this silver at the beginning of the year, young man.”

 

‘The beginning of field season…’ Yuuri thought as he remembered those early days. He could vividly recall his first time meeting a predator, seeing Yuri again, and then subsequently chasing the hell out of him. The boy had tried everything to get away from him, but Yuuri wasn’t having it.

 

“I should probably apologize. I didn’t know the laws, so I kind of forced my way into his life,” he said, feeling a bit abashed. Nikolai just gave him a long look.

 

“Humans begin appearing on May first, but you didn’t start your dive until the third, correct?” He asked after a moment. Yuuri was stunned.

 

“Yeah, we had some paperwork issues, so we were delayed a couple of days. How did you know?” He asked.

 

“Because that is the time I first noticed the change in Yurochka,” Nikolai said, before giving the same smirk that Yuri often wore. “It wasn’t a coincidence he showed up when he did. He had been trailing you since day one. Circumstances forced him out of the shadows.”

 

Hearing that, Yuuri had no words.

 

“Though it was selfish of me to let it be, I hadn't planned on interfering at all. My boy has been through so much, and I want to see his old smile once more. If that were to come from him being in contact with a human, so be it,” Nikolai said, before sighing. “Unfortunately, he has forced my hand, which is the reason for my presence right now.”

 

“I don’t understand. What’s happened?” Yuuri asked.

 

“Five days ago, you were to meet with him, correct?” Nikolai asked instead.

 

“Yeah, but I got held back by data analysis since our diving season is mostly over. The next two days I had to cover my advisor’s classes while he dealt with a family emergency. How did you know?” Yuuri asked. Nikolai just let out a deep sigh.

 

“I knew it,” he said to himself, before taking a moment to clear his thoughts. “Five days ago, Yurochka left early and didn’t come back until late, which isn’t uncommon. He looked unsettled, however, so I started watching him. He returned here the next day and stayed overnight. On the third day, he breached the surface. By the time I caught him, he was almost at the dam’s crossing.”

 

“What?!” Yuuri yelled, as he felt like his body had gone numb. The dam’s crossing is highly populated and the water is quite shallow. No rational sea creature would come near it.

 

‘So easily he could have been caught or seen. What the hell was he thinking?’ Yuuri thought.

 

“It’s his bond with you,” Nikolai said. “Protecting those we care about overrides our sense of self-preservation. It is why we stay in large units. We _**need**_ to know everyone's whereabouts at all times.”

 

Those words rang in Yuuri's ears as he recalled the first time he couldn't keep a meeting time.

 

_“Where the hell have you been?! You said the blood panels would only take three days at most; it’s been five!”_

 

_… “I was more worried than anything. It’s not like I’ll get a memo if something happens on the surface.”_

 

This time when he had arrived, Yuri gave him a peculiar look and then swam away from him. He had to chase him down.

 

“The longer the person is missing, the more rationality bleeds into irrationality. Anxiety will eventually convince them that the absent person is hurt.”

 

“I didn't know,” Yuuri said softly, feeling like a broken record. Still feeling cold at the thought of Yuri being in someone's tank or on someone's dissection table, he really could only see one solution no matter how much he hated it.

 

“Maybe it'd be best if I stopped coming here. He can’t safely live on land, and my presence is making it dangerous for him here, too. I’ll talk to him, and let him know-” Yuuri started.

 

“No, it’s far too late for that,” Nikolai interjected. “It may have always been too late. I sometimes wondered if he had contact with you as a child would he have had an easier go of things, but that’s neither here nor there. If you vanish from his life now, I don’t know what would become of him.”

 

“Then what is it that you want from me?!” Yuuri asked, trying to keep the exasperation from his voice. He felt in over his head.

 

“I want nothing more than what you have already gave,” Nikolai said as he gave a sad, wry smile. “If I’m being honest, your reappearance made me think that luck had smiled upon us once more. For so long I was the only one that kept him stable, so as my time to leave grows closer to the sooner side of the spectrum, I grow increasingly wary of his fate. My kind cannot survive in isolation. Be there for him… please.”

 

Now at a stand still, the two males stared at one another. For the first time, Yuuri could really take him in without being overwhelmed by his appearance. Though still rugged and masculine, his skin had began to wrinkle, which gave away his advanced years. Unlike humans who had to contend with the wind and sun damaging their skin, mermen didn’t start breaking until near their end. Finally, he understood the mermen’s purpose for seeking him out.

 

_“There will be a time when I’m no longer around to watch from the shadows, or to stop him from going to shore. Please, look after him.”_

 

‘That’s why he told me all of that; so that I can know what I’m dealing with… But, how am I supposed to keep that reckless idiot from being reckless when we live in two different worlds? I can’t always be around,’ Yuuri thought as he considered a world without Nikolai. There really was no alternative, but…

 

“I have an idea, but you really aren’t going to like it,” he finally said. Immediately, Nikolai’s eyebrows drew in concern.

 

“Go on,” he said.

 

“I want to take him to shore,” Yuuri said, quickly adding before Nikolai’s eyes could widen further. “I don’t mean expose him to humans! I want to take him to my place, not permanently or anything, just for a little bit at a time. There, I’ll have access to more materials that can show him what the human world is truly like; documentaries, videos, movies… tv in general. I think his recklessness comes from him overestimating himself and underestimating us. A little fear would be good for him, maybe then he’d lose the rose-colored glasses,” he finished in one breath. Nikolai looked to have aged in one minute.

 

“Saint Petersburg has an awful lot of humans. I don’t know about this,” he said, still looking worried.

 

“No, I work in Saint Petersburg, but I live on Kotlin Island, on this side of the dam. There’s only about forty thousand people on the whole island versus the five million in Saint Petersburg. Comparatively speaking, it’s dead. But, it gives me easier access to both sides of the water for my research. The place I’m staying at is my advisor’s summer cottage. The man is practically chained to his work in Saint Petersburg, so the probability of him stopping by is just about nil. I literally had to remove five centimeters of dust from everything before I could even move in. That added to my notoriously erratic dive schedule, and no one would be the wiser. I can came here in the middle of the night with a bag of equipment, dump the equipment, and then put Yura in the bag. Once we’re back inside, it’s smooth sailing. I’ve been known to keep to myself, so no one ever darkens my door,” Yuuri said, and Nikolai went quiet for a long while.

 

“And you are positive you can expose him to this wide range of things from the safety of your dwelling?” He finally asked.

 

“Yes, I’m positive,” Yuuri nodded. “Humans actually have to just about banish technology if we don’t want to see or hear what’s going on in the world. Even then, it’s hard. There’s so much information being transmitted that you can barely tell what’s real anymore.”

 

He then thought on it some more, and his own worries reared their heads.

 

“I truly think it’ll be fine, but I’m going to have a very long talk with Yura beforehand. We’re going to need some very firm ground rules,” he said.

 

“I, too, will be talking to my grandson,” Nikolai added, and judging by his face, Yuuri was glad that he wasn’t his grandfather.

 

“Give me a week. That should give me enough time to get everything ready. I don’t want any surprises,” Yuuri said, offhandedly as he pondered everything he would need. Nikolai merely nodded, also pondering. He was going to have his portion of the talk right away.

 

“We’ll meet again, in one week,” he said, and then headed towards the exit, before pausing. “One more thing…”

 

Once Yuuri gave him his full attention, he added, “If it comes up again, inform my grandson that I am not senile just yet. My mind is quite clear.”

 

He then winked before continuing his departure. Yuuri, on the other hand, was frozen.

 

‘Exactly how much did he see?!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, that I've gotten to the chapters I initially intended, I'm super interested in hearing from you. What do you guys think of this one? Don't be shy! I'm dying to know. Was this what you were expecting so far?


	8. Can I please have a dull moment?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri learns that it is not so easy to live with a merman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the antithesis to chapter 5. Chapter 5 was so stringent that I had to add a timeline in the story just to keep everyone on the same page. This chapter doesn't follow a timeline at all. Each piece is happening simultaneously and is interconnected in such a way that I thought it better to break it up by theme. You'll get what I mean once you read it. Just note that this is happening in the initial weeks of Yuri visiting land.

“Are you serious?” Yuuri asked, both tired and incredulous.

 

“Don’t look at me like that! That bag smells old fish and chemicals; there’s no way I’m getting in there,” Yuri said as he folded his arms and turned his head. Yuuri shifted his enlarged eyes to the cave’s other occupant, briefly, then tried again.

 

“Of course it smells like the sea, I use it for my equipment! I didn’t have much time to wash it out, but it’s not like you’ll be in it that long anyway. The sooner you get in, the faster this will be done,” he said, feeling nervous about what he was about to do.

 

“I’m not doing it. I’m not letting my first memories of the surface be me gagging and smelling like that bag. Maybe it’s fine for that dinky thing on your face, but my nose is powerful. Nope, not doing it,” Yuri replied, head still turned. 

 

“Yurochka,” Nikolai practically growled, and two sets of eyes flicked towards him. They were met with grayish glowing eyes, and a creased forehead. Yuuri had heard people getting angry and combining languages many times before; even he had done it with Russian and Japanese with the occasional English swear word thrown in. This was the first time he heard Russian and Mer mixed though. It sounded like the language of the dead. Yuri must have thought so too, because he quickly jumped in the bag and closed  _ himself  _ up. Only then did the glowing cease, but Nikolai continued to look at the bag in exasperation as he shook his head in disdain. 

 

“And you’re positive no one will intercept you in between here and your home?” He finally asked, after practically glaring the bag into oblivion. Yuuri could see the worry openly in his eyes.

 

“I’m positive. It’s three in the morning, and nearly fall. No sane person is near these waters right now,” he said with a smile. Nikolai gave a small smile as well, before looking at the bag once more. He then gave a big sigh, before plunging into the water. They had both already lectured Yuri until they had started repeating themselves; no going outside, no taking pictures or video of himself, no answering the door, no phone usage, and most importantly, listen to Yuuri at all times. Now, they had to make sure transport went smoothly, and it was Nikolai’s job to make sure the area was clear on the sea side of things. With a planned schedule of four days on land rotating with two days in the sea, transport was going to be the most intense time.

 

“All right Yura, I’m about to jump in. Start holding your breath,” Yuuri said, and then submerged himself in the pitch black water. Not wanting to draw attention with his headlight, he swam on memory, keeping his composure by mentally counting. Breaching the surface nearly came as a shock. Dazedly, he tossed his bag in the trunk of his car, and started driving, only remembering that the bag was not  _ just equipment _ halfway home.

 

‘Maybe it’s a good thing. I don’t normally ride with my equipment sitting shotgun. It looks less suspicious this way,’ he thought to himself, deciding to keep Yuri in the dark literally and figuratively. Not even ten minutes later, he was pulling into his driveway. Having largely made it, he was beginning to feel the jitters of showing someone his home for the first time. Considering who and what he was showing his home to, he felt especially nervous.

 

“All right, I know that it isn’t much, but here it is,” Yuuri said as he went to open the bag. Before he could touch it, Yuri popped out like a jack-in-the-box and practically darted to the first doorway he saw.

 

‘What in the world?’ Yuuri thought, stunned. He had thought the merman would be fairly immobile while on land, but he was wrong. Apparently, mermen had excellent upper body strength, and could not only pull themselves into the planking position, but use it to “walk” as well. Yuuri got front row seats of this feat as he watched his guest exit the guest room and enter the kitchen. It reminded him of The Ring.

 

“Stop that! It looks creepy,” Yuuri said as he caught up with the excited merman, and lifted him off the floor, pulling him back to chest.

 

“We do have ways for people without legs to get around, you know,” Yuuri said as he carried Yuri into the living room, and placed him into a motorized wheelchair. 

 

“I figured this would be useful, so I ordered it. It just arrived yesterday. Use this to get it to move,” Yuuri said as he explained how it worked.

 

“I remember you said you wanted to drive, and it’s not quite a car, but it has a motor and wheels,” he added with a smile. Before his lips could finish their upward turn, he heard the hum of said motor as Yuri took off down the halls and into various rooms, pushing the wheelchair as fast as it could go.

 

‘Thank God I don’t live in an apartment,’ Yuuri thought as he stared worriedly at his advisor’s wood floors.

 

**_Technology_ **

 

“Hey Yura! I got finished early so…” Yuuri trailed off the minute he entered the main room. There on his wall with the help of his projector was a porno that happened to be, at that moment, on a closeup of grinding genitalia. Even as a child, he was much too shy to indulge in viewing such activities, so now that the people were blown up to be life size, he was downright scandalized.

 

“What the hell are you watching?!” Yuuri yelled as he quickly started unhooking cables to remove the moaning, bouncing people from his house, to no avail. He practically looked like a stopped sign by the time he gave up and looked at Yuri in annoyance. When he had taught him what the internet was and how to use it, explaining that you could find anything, he was not expecting this.

 

“You know, I’m actually impressed,” Yuri said as he turned to Yuuri, speaking as though he was talking about the weather. “After seeing what humans had to offer, I was skeptical, but that guy’s making it happen.” He then turned back to the flashing images. Yuuri decided then and there to activate the parental controls all every device he owned.

 

***

 

“All right, it’s all clear on my side, I’m going to go check the barracks.”

 

Yuuri heard Yuri say as he placed the groceries on the counter.

 

_ “Roger that.”  _

 

A random voice replied, making Yuuri nearly drop the apple juice. He then paused, waiting to hear more, but it was silent, so he went back to work.

 

“I’m surrounded! Clearing a path now, and headed out back. Move to the supply room!” Yuri yelled, and then Yuuri did drop the juice. Hearing the sounds of grenades and guns, he ran into the guest room, and saw a giant 4K curved TV with army men moving across the screen, a computer setup that he had never seen before, and Yuri holding a controller with a headset on his head.

 

_ “Good work! They almost had our asses back there,”  _ the voice that Yuuri now realized was from some person in some random place who didn’t know he was playing shoot em up with a merman.

 

“Ready for the next level?” Said merman asked. Yuuri had heard enough; he promptly pushed the power button.

 

“What the hell?” Yuri asked, almost falling out of his chair.

 

“Yura, what is all this? It’s certainly not mine,” Yuuri said.

 

“No, it’s mine,” Yuri replied, looking at him like he was crazy, “I ordered it online.”

 

Quickly, Yuuri looked over everything in the room, and he could practically see the dollar signs.

 

“How did you do that when you don’t have any money?” He asked, looking both skeptical and concerned. 

 

“Easy, I used your credit card. There’s no interest for six months, and the payment is only thirty-two dollars after that,” Yuri said casually. Without uttering another word, Yuuri started packing up every bit of equipment while Yuri followed closely by, pleading his case.

 

**_Health_ **

 

“You willingly choose to use these things even though you don’t have to?” Yuri asked as he held a chopstick in each hand like drumsticks. By the look on his face, he was questioning Yuuri’s intelligence.

 

“Oh come on! It’s not that hard; just hold them…” Yuuri started with enthusiasm, before trailing off. Yuri’s fingers were webbed.

 

“I’m sorry! I totally forgot. Let me get you a fork,” Yuuri said as he scrambled into the kitchen. After quickly grabbing the utensil, he returned to Yuri pushing his chicken and rice around the plate with one of his spikes. Since he himself had already committed a faux pas, he let it slide.

 

“Make sure you add the special sauce. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it tastes great,” Yuuri said as he happily doused his plate. The new restaurant had won him over, completely. Yuri didn’t seem as enthused. Even with the fork in hand, he ate and chewed very slowly.

 

“What’s wrong? Is it not good?” Yuuri asked in between bites. 

 

“It’s not that…” Yuri trailed off, eyes growing increasingly glassy. 

 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” he added after a full minute of silence. The sound of his wheels racing towards the bathroom punctuated his sentence. Yuuri ran after him.

 

“What’s wrong? Do you think you need medical attention? Maybe I should take you home,” he said without pause. Yuri’s response was the emptying of his stomach.

 

“Ugh, it hurts,” he groaned. Yuuri was in near panic mode.

 

‘I didn’t even consider it. What if he’s deathly allergic to something?’ He thought.

 

“Yura, quickly, tell me everything you ate today,” he said.

 

“Everything?” Yuri mumbled with his head resting on the toilet. “Let’s see, I had a box of cereal, four donuts, a slice of cake, a pizza, the leftover stir fry from yesterday, and whatever the hell we were just eating.”

 

Yuuri just stared at him for a long moment.

 

“Do you eat like that everyday?” He asked with his voice impossibly flat. 

 

“More or less,” Yuri mumbled in pain. Yuuri’s worries had now completely shifted to annoyance.

 

“Yura, that’s a crap diet for even a human. Based on your dentition and normal diet, you’re not even an omnivore. You’re a carnivore. Your body is not designed to eat that many carbs; human bodies aren’t designed to eat that many carbs! You’re going to have to eat more meat,” he scolded. Even sick, Yuri was still stubborn.

 

“I’m sick of meat. ‘How would you like your fish today, Yurochka? Raw, raw or raw?’” He grumbled while imitating his grandfather. For long moments, they both glared at each. Knowing the pain of being denied what he wanted to eat, Yuuri relented a bit.

 

“I’m not saying you can’t ever eat other things, but cut back… a lot. Have meat as your main dish, and save the other stuff as a snack,” he said a bit more calmly.

 

“Fine,” Yuri conceded.

 

For the next couple of days, Yuri seemed to be doing great. He would still look a little green at times, but Yuuri didn’t have the heart to take the last little bit away from him.

 

‘Maybe, his body will adapt,’ he thought as they ate dinner. 

 

Later that night, he was awoken by what sounded like a cabinet door being slammed. Carefully, he got up and crept towards the kitchen just in case it was a burglar. What he found was Yuri shoving cookies into his mouth. Apparently, mermen jaws were more articulated than a humans because he had at least eight in there and was trying to put in more.

 

“What are you doing?” Yuuri asked, dryly.

 

“Aaahh!!!” Yuri screamed, and the family pack of cookies went flying through the air as crumbs sprayed out of his mouth. Yuuri looked at the package once it hit the floor.

 

‘Oreos? I didn’t buy those. They don’t even sell those here. How did he… the internet,’ he thought as he walked past the merman.

 

“I-” Yuri started.

 

“Not a word,” Yuuri said as he picked up each black cookie one by one. He was calling off work tomorrow. He had to go through his house with a fine-toothed comb and find the rest of Yuri’s hidden stash.

 

**_Education_ **

 

“All right Yura, part of the reason I brought you here, and the only reason your grandfather agreed for you to come was so that you can truly understand human nature. While there are a lot of good people out there, our society can be very dark. Are you ready for this crash course?” Yuuri asked with a stern look planted across his face. Yuri rolled his eyes skyward.

 

“Yeah, yeah, bring it on,” he said while waving his hand. 

 

“All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Yuuri said with a hint of sadness in his voice. 

 

The next day, he woke up bright and early at six a.m., made breakfast for the two of them, then started his marathon of videos at seven. He decided to kick things off with human-human aggression and began his lineup with the two World Wars and the Mongol Conquests. He then moved on to the history of religion and the battles linked to them. The images of lions eating cowering, praying children was quite poignant. It was about this time Yuuri asked what Yuri wanted for lunch. He declined altogether, so Yuuri ate ramen.

 

Next up was The Holocaust with Anne Frank and the little girl in the red coat. Yuri promptly hurled when he was informed that no, those were not snowflakes flying in the air; they were ashes. He seemed to be fairly numb by the time they moved on to the African slave trade, and was completely numb by the time they got to serial killers.

 

“It’s already ten o’clock, so let’s call it a day. We can pick up again tomorrow. I did take the whole weekend off for this,” Yuuri said, as he stretched his back muscles.

 

“I’ll pass. I’ve seen enough,” Yuri said, face clearly disturbed.

 

“Actually, you haven’t. That was just intraspecies aggression, the tip of the iceberg,” Yuuri said, before preparing for bed. Meanwhile, Yuri remained motionless for quite a while longer.

 

The following day, after making an even bigger breakfast due to Yuri skipping dinner as well, Yuuri started off with sea animal exploitation. Absolutely aghast, Yuri watched dolphins and orca perform tricks in tiny pools while cheering crowds of people watched. They then watched the history of whaling expeditions across time. Not wanting to leave land animals out, Yuuri showed documents on the fur and ivory trade as well as the modern meat industry. As a pig ran from slaughter and was chased down, Yuuri looked left and saw that Yuri had turned his head and was dazedly staring off into space.

 

“Yura?” Yuuri called, but the merman didn’t even blink. He had retreated within himself. Yuuri turned off the video. Now, he had truly had enough.

 

“Yura?” He tried again as he shook the boy. Finally, haunted eyes met his, and Yuuri lost his voice. Instead, he simply pulled him into a hug. When Yuri didn’t wrestle out of it, Yuuri knew then just how deeply the boy was affected.

 

“I hate that you had to watch that, but I’m not sorry. If making you watch us at our worst keeps you safe, then so be it,” Yuuri said softly, while Yuri remained silent. 

 

“You know, it’s rare I get the entire weekend off,” Yuuri said after several minutes passed. “I’d rather not spend the whole thing questioning the source of hate and the meaning of life. Let’s do something fun… I know! Let’s watch The Little Mermaid!” 

 

“What? The Little Mermaid?” Yuri asked in confusion, finally coming out of his fog.

 

“Yup! Now you can see what humans think when we hear the word mermaid,” Yuuri said, before laughing loudly, “This is going to be great!”

 

Yuri didn’t make it to even the twenty-minute mark before he started trashing the human idea of his kind. He was especially appalled by the fin structure, and the “octopus woman” was just “icing on the shit cake.” It took a solid hour for Yuuri to calm him down enough to move on to Peter Pan. By the time Pinocchio came on, they were both knocked out on the couch.

 

**_Hygiene_ **

 

‘What is that smell?’ Yuuri thought as he searched the kitchen for what was obviously an improperly discarded package of sardines. He had gotten a hint of it yesterday, but after putting in twelve hours in the lab, he ignored it and went to sleep. Now, fully refreshed and free of work, he was going to find it. He had already cleaned the fridge, taken out the trash and wiped down the cabinets. His next step was to mop the floors. If that didn’t do it, he’d move onto the bathroom.

 

“Coming through,” Yuri said as he wheeled between Yuuri and the fridge, grabbed a few slices of deli meat, then rolled out. The smell followed the path of his wheelchair.

 

‘It’s you!’ Yuuri thought as he stared after him. Not wasting another moment, he drew a warm, soapy bath. For once, he found a reason for a westerner style bath. Now he just needed his target.

 

“Yura, you stink,” he said as soon as the merman was in his sight. He saw no need to skirt the issue. If you could touch a guy’s dick, you could tell him he smells.

 

“I don’t stink, you stink!” Yuri shot back, clearly offended. It was obvious that he had never heard that in his life, but he also hadn’t been out of the water for long periods of time before either. Submerged people didn’t have to think about body odor buildup. 

 

“Oh, don’t be like that. I’m not saying that it’s permanent. It’s just in this moment, at this time, you stink. Let me show you how to bathe,” Yuuri said calmly. Yuri looked at him for moment, blankly, then tried to make a break for it. Yuuri quickly snatched him out of the wheelchair before he could gain speed.

 

“I don’t know why you’re being like this,” Yuuri said as he carried the squirming boy into the bathroom.

 

“You live in water, so I don’t get the big deal,” he added before tossing Yuri into the water. Stunned, Yuri looked at him, then gave a devilish grin.

 

“You just fucked up. Water is my turf. It is on!” He said, then tried to use his tail to catapult himself out of the water. Yuuri had to use his full weight to block the escape. From there, random limbs flailed about as they battled. By the time the war was over, seventy-five percent of the original water was on the floor, and Yuuri was laid back in the tub fully-clothed with Yuri’s back resting against his chest. Both males were exhausted.

 

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” Yuuri asked as new water filled the tub. 

 

“You didn’t ask nicely,” Yuri said, while flicking his tail fin up and down serenely. The warm water running over it felt good.

 

“Fine, I’ll remember that,” Yuuri said as he applied shampoo to the mess of blond hair resting beneath his chin.

 

“You better,” Yuri mumbled with his eyes closed as Yuuri, finally, began giving him a bath.

 

**_Social_ **

 

“All right Yura, we’re here,” Yuuri said as he set the bag down. Now used to the routine, Yuri calmly pulled himself out, stretched, then open his eyes to see another set of green eyes looking at him.

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it. My advisor’s cat is staying with me now. He just found out she’s pregnant, so he doesn’t want her stressed out by his son’s new puppy. Meet Anastasia,” Yuuri said, and as if on cue, Anastasia sauntered towards the front door. She then stopped halfway down the hall and gave a full body, claw protracting stretch. Mesmerized by the little creature, Yuuri absentmindedly extended his spines and then retracted them in imitation. Anastasia watched this, then slowly approached him. She brushed against his tail with a pur, then strolled back the way she came.

 

“It took six months to get her to stop hissing at me, yet you get all that on day one. That’s exactly why I prefer dogs,” Yuuri said out loud. He may as well have been talking to himself. Yuri’s full attention was on the cat, and Yuuri only realized that after he saw the back of a blond head bend the corner before he finished his statement. 

 

“Um, Yura, you really shouldn’t bother her. She’ll turn on you in a second. One time-” Yuuri began, then quickly went silent. The “hellcat” was sitting in Yuri’s lap purring up a storm.

 

‘The two of them would bond,’ Yuuri thought to himself with a laugh and an invisible eye roll. He then thought over his word choice, which made his thoughts turn more serious. The whole bonding thing that mermen do puzzled him, and he couldn’t wrap his mind around something so intangible. It sounded right up there with soulmates, fate and all that jazz, so he hit the literature to see if anything of the sort had been previously documented. Like he had suspected, he saw nothing using that word choice. He did find similar descriptive behaviors in cetaceans and elephants, however.

 

He read accounts of orca and dolphin females leaving their family units to carry around their dead calves for weeks on end, psychotic tendencies developing and abnormal wailing after the death of close relatives, and even suicide by drowning after falling into a pattern of behaviors closely correlated with depression. In the elephants, it was even more damning.

 

He read accounts of entire herds breaking down after the poaching of the matriarch. Long term studies showed delayed mental and emotional development of calves born immediately before and after the female’s passing, poor parenting skills displayed as many as three generations after, and isolationist behaviors that led to weak herd connections. Neurological tests even showed altered chemical composition of the brain, indicating a permanent change. Those creatures could never get back what they lost, and it made him worry for Yuri. Perhaps he couldn’t form bonds any longer?

 

‘Well, Nikolai, it looks like Anastasia is certainly trying,’ Yuuri thought as he watched the cat practically vibrate in the merman’s lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my favorite chapters to write. If felt good to not have to worry about each word choice and structure. What did you think? 
> 
> Actually, this is something I've been thinking about for a while. Writers always say things like, "What did you think?" "Please review!" and so forth, yet never say why. I mean, what the hell are they doing with them? As a fellow reader, I still think this at times.
> 
> Some people are clearly trying to solicit compliments. Back in the day, I would see statements like, "I won't update until I get X number of reviews," and it pissed me off! Clearly, that person was expecting something good. I'm sure they didn't want ten "This sucked balls!" posted on their work. I always felt an itch to be super critical then. (I usually just passed on it altogether, LOL.)
> 
> For me, I'm not really looking for compliments. (Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the praise!) But, I often ask what you think because I'm trying to get an idea if everyone is on the same page. For instance, if I write a story where two people are secretly in love but act like they hate each other, I would hope the majority of my readers are thinking, "Damn, they really don't get along! But, then again..." vs "Damn, they really hate each other. When's the funeral?" It's what draws the line between unpredictable and coming out of the left field. In my early writings I would miss the mark on this, so now I'm always cautious of being too vague. This is why I'm always interested in your thoughts. I'm trying to get a feel for if I'm doing my job as a writer, and if not, I need to step it up!


	9. The Fork in the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Yuuri and Yuri must make sense of their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I want to thank you for all the feedback given last chapter. Never worry about giving me critique. I am stubborn as hell, so never think that something you say to me will warp my story, offend me, or anything of the like. I don't care if ninety percent of my readers say, "If you pair these people together, we'll stop reading." If that's what I had planned, guess what? They'll be paired! LOL
> 
> Seriously though, I'm always open to hearing your interpretations, because while I may not allow people to write my stories for me, I will allow useful critique to help me write the best version of the story I intended. Does that make sense?

“Eat!” Yuri commanded, plopping a plate on top of Yuuri’s keyboard to make sure it happened. The rapidly moving fingers stopped instantly.

 

‘Huh?’ Yuuri thought dazedly as he looked down to see a sandwich instead of keys. It was the first thing he had seen other than his computer screen for hours.

 

“Oh, thanks,” he said absentmindedly, and then took a bite; Yuri watched him closely. Not a moment later, an unreadable expression crossed Yuuri’s face.

 

“Yura, what exactly am I eating?” He asked, voice flat, as he quickly lifted the rye bread and peeked inside.

 

“It’s some sandwich I watched them make on a cooking show. The raw salmon, avocado and sauerkraut combo looked interesting, so I made it,” Yuri said with a shrug.

 

‘So interesting that you fed it to me,’ Yuuri thought, mentally shaking his head. Now that he knew what was on the plate, he reassessed the sandwich, shrugged, then took another bite. A glance at the clock revealed that it was already close to noon.

 

“Whoa! You could have stopped me sooner, you know?” Yuuri said as he looked at Yuri with worry. After three weeks of them going between the land and sea, they’d fallen into an easy routine. Yuuri would shift the majority of his work to when Yuri was away, putting in as many as twelve hours each day, then working no more than four with at least one day off while he was present. As it was, he had supremely passed the four-hour mark and was approaching five.

 

“I’m good. It looked like you were having a break through,” Yuri said, forcing a bark of laughter from Yuuri.

 

“I wish! I was just correcting all of the red marks my advisor sent back, and that’s only in the introduction,” he said as he headed to the kitchen with the plate.

 

“At the rate I’m going, I can forget about submitting this review by the end of the year. With how my advisor critiques, I might have to forget about the end of next year, too,” he laughed sardonically as he washed said plate.

 

Watching him, Yuri now understood what he meant when he had called the field season "the easy part". The minute the diving season ended, he watched Yuuri write, write and write some more. He had offered to help once, and was flatly turned down.

 

_“No. It’s one thing to get help in the field, but no scientist worth his salt would publish someone else’s words. Thanks Yura, but this has to come from me and me alone.”_

 

Yuri respected that, so he didn't bring it up again.

 

“Hey, what do you want to do, watch a movie or play a game?” Yuuri asked, and got an eye-roll.

 

“I’m sick of movies. I’ve seen so many that I’m even starting to get the cultural references. Let’s play chess,” Yuri said, glaring at Yuuri who seemed amused at his expense.

 

“Table or floor?” Yuuri asked. Yuri answered by extracting himself from his wheelchair and stretching out on the rug. He appreciated the mobility the wheelchair offered, but he wasn’t actually crippled, so constantly sitting was doing a number on his tail.

 

“I’m going to win this time,” Yuuri said with determination coloring his voice as he moved his pawn forward.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Yuri said as he matched his move. “What exactly is your advisor looking for?”

 

“Beats me. This is the second time he sent it back, but I’m at the end of my knowledge. I may need to read some more literature,” Yuuri said while claiming a pawn. Yuri’s knight immediately took his rook.

 

“He might just be fucking with you. You should send him some gibberish to see if he’s even reading it,” Yuri said before bringing out his queen. “Check.”

 

“He’d kill me!” Yuuri chuckled, as he shifted his bishop. “Besides, I’d feel bad about the wasted time.”

 

“You would,” Yuri grumbled, while shaking his head in disdain. “Checkmate.”

 

“Huh?!”

 

Quickly, Yuuri moved forward to see what had happened and where he went wrong. He then looked at the clock and saw that only twelve minutes had passed.

 

“I want a rematch!” He yelled.

 

“It’s going to be the same result,” Yuri said, with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk.

 

‘You’re on!’ Yuuri mentally declared as he quickly set the board. Four matches later, he bowed his head in defeat. He lost in fourteen, eight, nine and three minutes. The three-minute game was the final straw.

 

“Alright, I’ll admit defeat for now,” Yuuri said with a glare, and Yuri gave him a shit-eating grin.

 

“You may have me in chess, but you can’t beat me in UNO,” Yuuri added.

 

“Bring it!” Yuri answered.

 

***

 

“You cheated!” Yuri said, while following a smug Yuuri into the kitchen. He could practically feel him gloating.

 

“I cheated each time? How, when you were watching me? Don’t be a sore loser, Yura,” Yuuri said, laughing to himself as Yuri scowled.

 

“What are we even making?” Yuri asked, still salty.

 

“Pork cutlet bowls. I need to recharge my brain."

 

As Yuri sliced the pork, Yuuri made the batter. They then switched to Yuri chopping vegetables, and Yuuri washing the rice. In no time, the strips of meat were frying, and the rice was steaming; Yuuri felt proud. They were actually going to to eat dinner early instead of ten minutes before bed.

 

‘The pork cutlets look great. They almost look like Mom’s,’ Yuuri thought with excitement before turning to smile down at his co-chef. As if she heard his thoughts, Hiroko called.

 

‘Mom?’ Yuuri thought as he glanced at his phone.

 

“Hey Yura, take over for a minute,” he said quickly, before answering. Without replying, Yuri climbed out of his wheelchair and up onto the counter to watch the frying pork.

 

“Moshi moshi?” Yuuri answered, drawing Yuri’s attention.

 

“Yuuri! How have you been?” Hiroko asked.

 

“Um, I’m fine… isn’t it a little late there, Mom? Is everything okay?” Yuuri replied, looking concerned.

 

“Oh, everything is fine! I was just thinking about you, so I figured I’d call before getting to bed,” Hiroko said, making Yuuri sigh with relief. Yuri looked on, but all he could do was watch body language. Yuuri seemed a bit more reserved than usual.

 

‘It’s not his advisor, or he’d be speaking Russian,’ Yuri thought as he pondered different possibilities. He only stopped when Yuuri started silently gesturing to the pan with widened eyes.

 

‘Damn it!’ Yuri thought as he quickly fished out the slightly over-browned meat. He had been looking forward to this.

 

“It’s not too bad. It’ll just be a bit more crisp than usual,” Yuuri said after ending his call.

 

“Who was that anyway?” Yuri asked, still irritated about the meat.

 

“My mom,” Yuuri said, making Yuri look at him in surprise.

 

“Did something happen?”

 

“No, why’d you ask that?”

 

For a moment, they stared at one another, confused.

 

“You seemed tense. What the hell else was I supposed to think?” Yuri broke the silence, causing Yuuri’s eyes to widen, before he smiled.

 

“Did I? I didn’t even notice,” Yuuri said as he carried their bowls over to the table.

 

‘It was probably because I’ve hit a roadblock with this paper. Mari stayed behind to help our parents, never pursuing any dreams of her own in order for me to chase mine. I have to be successful,’ he thought.

 

“It’s weird hearing you speak Japanese,” Yuri said, breaking Yuuri’s train of thought.

 

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I feel the same. It’s rare that I get to use it,” Yuuri said, a bit abashed. Yuri looked thoroughly confused.

 

“Do you all not keep in touch?” He asked.

 

“We do, but we text more than anything. Phone calls are usually reserved for big news,” Yuuri said. Yuri just looked at him expectantly.

 

‘What’s the news?’ His face read.

 

“My mom is a bit different; she’ll just randomly call sometimes. This time she was checking to see if I planned on visiting over the holidays. I doubt I will with this paper looming,” Yuuri added, finally appeasing Yuri’s curiosity. Unfortunately, it made Yuuri think more than he wanted to.

 

‘It’s been five years since I left, and I haven’t visited once. Everyone is now on different journeys. Going back to Hasetsu feels like going back to start,’ he thought.

 

“I think there are sedatives in pork cutlet bowls. This is the second time I’ve eaten one, and just like last time, I feel exhausted after finishing it,” Yuri said as he rested his head on the table.

 

“Hey, don’t fall asleep! You still need to soak,” Yuuri quickly fired back.

 

“Just let me turn to ash,” Yuri mumbled from his food coma, forcing Yuuri to carry him to the bathroom.

 

After their initial bath, soaking had become a part of their daily routine. It was more important for Yuri due to his skin drying out much faster than any human’s. He took a shower in the morning, a bath at night and moisturized after each dip, yet still sloughed off more dead skin cells than a human did in a week.

 

“In you go,” Yuuri said before dropping the merman in the water. He then stripped down to his swimming trunks before getting in himself. Growing up in a hot spring resort, he was used to being naked in front of people. But, since Yuri didn’t go around exposed, not covering up felt inappropriate.

 

“I can’t believe I went so long without taking a bath,” Yuuri said after pulling his knees up and resting his chin on them. Yuri, who matched his position, smirked viciously at him.

 

“You should rephrase that; It makes you sound nasty,” he said, and Yuuri kicked water at him.

 

“You know what I mean,” Yuuri laughed. “I was so disappointed by the bathing situation when I first came to this country, I just stuck to showers. Now, I realize how much I missed a hot soak. I guess a little water is better than no water, huh?”

 

“Tch, I could have told you that,” Yuri said.

 

“Move over,” he added, before completely submerging himself in the water. No matter how many times he saw it, Yuuri could never get used to seeing someone lie under water, in a tub, with their eyes open. The sea was one thing, but bathtubs were a very human convention, and that was not human behavior.

 

‘Well, I did tell him to soak,’ Yuuri thought before stretching out as well. In shared silence, they mentally drifted until the water ran cold.

 

***

 

“Alright, trial number five, the final one,” Yuuri said as he picked up the smallest jar in the hall closet.

 

“Because you can only get this cream with a prescription, I was hoping something else worked first, but here were are. If you still get flaky after this, I give up,” he added as he walked into Yuri’s room and approached his bed.

 

“I told you it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t wither away and die the first two weeks of me coming here, and I didn’t moisturize at all then,” Yuri said as he flipped onto his stomach, and rested his head on his hands.

 

“Yura, you shedded so much I thought I had termites. I only noticed what it was when the light revealed that some of the ‘wood debris’ was iridescent. Do you have any idea how disgusting that is?” Yuuri said as he uncapped the jar and warmed the cream in his hands.

 

“If you say so,” Yuri mumbled, not really caring once Yuuri started working the cream into his skin. He was essentially getting a free massage for grossing Yuuri out.

 

‘Thanks, skin,’ he thought to himself as Yuuri moved to his lower back, and eventually his tail. Yuri didn’t even try to fight the sigh that escaped him when the cream was rubbed into his tailfins.

 

“Alright, that should do it. Turnover and apply the rest of this,” Yuuri finally said, as he held out the jar to Yuri. Realizing he was being addressed, Yuri cracked his eyes open, shot an unimpressed look at said jar, then promptly closed them again.

 

“Screw that. I’m going to sleep,” he said, making Yuuri glare at him.

 

“Yura! Why do we have to go through this every night? Moisturizing only half of your body accomplishes nothing, and you know it,” he said, eyes piercing the back of the merman’s head. Yuri didn’t even flinch.

 

“Fine, I’ll put some on in the morning,” he mumbled, eyes still closed.

 

‘Stubborn. Just absolutely stubborn,’ Yuuri thought, before letting out a sigh. He then forced Yuri onto his back. If he hadn’t been faced with breathing in merman dander on top of the cat fur he currently breathed, he would have let Yuri get ashy to teach him a lesson. As it was, he just started rubbing the cream into his neck and shoulders, before moving down to his chest and stomach. Eyes slitted, Yuri watched him wordlessly, while Yuuri dutifully ignored him. He honestly hadn’t minded, but it still annoyed him that he felt like he was giving in.

 

‘If I find a way to apply this from a spray bottle, it’s on. I think Yura hates those things more than Anastasia does,’ he thought as he inwardly laughed at Yuri’s reaction when he accidentally sprayed himself with cologne. None the wiser, Yuri watched as moisturizer was rubbed into his tail, not knowing his masseur was internally cackling at nefarious ideas.

 

“There, now you can sleep you giant baby,” Yuuri said as he closed the jar, finally satisfied with his work. Yuri just closed his eyes in reply.

 

‘Actually, there is one more thing,’ Yuuri thought as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his chapstick. The minute the tube rubbed across his lips, Yuri’s eyes shot open and he knocked Yuuri’s hands away.

 

“What the hell?!” He yelled as he furiously wiped his mouth.

 

“Hey, don’t wipe it off! That’s my personal lip balm. It stops your lips from getting dry, and it’s not like you can just lick yours when you need to,” Yuuri said as he smacked the boy’s hands away. He then applied another layer as Yuri looked at him with a peculiar face.

 

‘Now, what’s his deal?’ Yuuri thought as he finally leaned back. The minute he did, Yuri surged forward, and pressed his lips firmly against his. Yuuri immediately went rigid as his eyes widened enough to hurt.

 

“What? That shit feels weird, and you didn’t say anything about kissing it off,” Yuri said with a vicious smirk, puckering and smacking his lips for good measure. He then laid back down with closed eyes, smirk still in place. Still dazed, Yuuri wordlessly put his chapstick back in his pocket, and then walked out and over to his room. He laid down on his bed, but his eyes were firmly open.

 

‘What the hell was that all about?’ He thought as the night now seemed young.

 

***

 

The next day, Yuuri was glad that he had already planned to take it off, because his mind was far removed from scientific literature and the like. More importantly, they made it a habit for him to go into Saint Petersburg and secretly film different attractions to take back to Yuri. Since he couldn’t go to them, Yuuri decided to bring them to him. On today’s agenda was the Hermitage Museum.

 

‘That should give me a few hours,’ Yuuri thought, desperate to get away from the merman so that he could focus on his thoughts.

 

‘Does he really dislike chapstick that much he’d kiss me to remove it? It wasn’t even flavored or scented, so that couldn’t have been what was off-putting… Then again, I do usually rub my lips together out of habit when I put it on; maybe, the heaviness of it was a bit too foreign to him. He did wipe it off and said it felt weird… No, this is Yura. He probably did it to mess with me,’ Yuuri thought as he aimlessly walked through the Small Hermitage building, expertly weaving through the crowds and stopping for only the most interesting pieces. Even then, it still took him well over three hours.

 

‘Sorry Yura, it looks like you won’t be discovering all of the hidden treasures of Russia today,’ Yuuri thought as he headed back home. When he walked in, he saw that Yuri had made some type of meat patties. Judging by the plate in the sink, the remainder on the stove was for him.

 

“I was only able to get through one building, just barely,” Yuuri said as he walked into the living room with his plate, handing his camera to Yuri.

 

“It’s that big?” Yuri asked as he hooked the camera up to the TV.

 

“You have no idea,” Yuuri said as he bit into one of his patties.

 

Now, more interested than ever, Yuri plopped onto the couch next to Yuuri and watched the screen.

 

“Good, you got the descriptions, too,” he said, while rapidly reading to himself. Meanwhile, Yuuri’s eyes were trained on him.

 

‘He doesn’t seem to be fazed by it. It probably was just Yura being Yura. Why am I even thinking about this so hard? I’ve done far more to him, so this should be nothing,’ he thought as his face went red at the memory. Beside him, Yuri seemed to have froze as well, but kept his eyes on the screen.

 

‘That doesn’t seem too interesting,’ Yuuri thought as he glanced at the screen then back at Yuri. ‘Maybe he’s thinking about it, after all... Then again, I never know what’s on his mind. What could be bugging him?’

 

As if hearing his thoughts, Yuri whipped around to look at him.

 

“Why do you keep looking over here?” He asked with irritation and confusion marring his voice. Yuuri jumped, not even realizing that he had been caught.

 

“Sorry, you looked like something was bothering you,” he said, slightly abashed. Yuri just narrowed his eyes.

 

“Yeah, there is. You’ve been staring at me for the last hour,” he said, and Yuuri rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

 

“Sorry,” he said, but Yuri just shook his head with a laugh.

 

“Weirdo,” he called him, then bumped his shoulder with his own, before turning back to the footage.

 

Somehow, Yuuri kept it together for the rest of the day, and transported Yuri back to the sea that night without event. The next two days, however, he was so unproductive that his advisor gave him a call, concerned that he was exhibiting academic burnout. Yuuri was so embarrassed that he decided he was going to hit the problem head on. He was going to talk to the source of his thoughts.

 

***

 

When Yuuri arrived back on land with Yuri in his bag, he didn’t even bother to stop at the door. He marched them straight into the guest bedroom, and plopped the bag on the bed. When Yuri came out, he paused once he saw his surroundings, then turned to look at Yuuri.

 

“Thanks, I guess. Now, I…” he trailed off once he saw the serious look he was being given.

 

“Yura, why did you kiss me?” Yuuri asked, cutting straight to the chase. Briefly, Yuri’s eyes widened, before his face rapidly shifted into a look of incredulity.

 

“Seriously? You’re still on that? I thought I had made it clear,” he said, laughing hard enough he had to hold his stomach. It immediately deflated Yuuri.

 

“Well, you didn’t,” Yuuri said softly, before slightly lowering his gaze. His confidence was waning a bit now that the conversation was actually happening. Speaking it out loud made it all seem so stupid.

 

“I figured it would be payback since it was you that put that greasy shit on my lips,” Yuri finally said. He then quirked his eyebrow, before adding, “What did you think, that I was trying to put the moves on you?”

 

Yuuri immediately colored.

 

“No, nothing like that” he said, pausing to try to put his thoughts into words. “I honestly can’t explain it. We always do things to rile each other up, but somehow, this felt different,” he added.

 

“Pfft, probably because you were being kissed by a merman. Bestiality tends to have that effect on people, not that I’ve tried it myself,” Yuri cut in, and Yuuri visibly flinched.

 

“Oh…” he said out loud, but more to himself, “That’s how you feel.”

 

For a moment, the look on Yuri’s face was completely unreadable. He then shifted his eyes left to break their stare off, before flicking them back on his target. His face was now serious and slightly angry.

 

“And you don’t?” He challenged. Yuuri thought about it briefly, but the answer was already there.

 

“No, because it’s you,” he finally said, and Yuri’s mouth dropped open slightly in unabashed shock. Quickly, the look was replaced by a lascivious, mocking grin.

 

“I didn’t know you had a merman kink. So this is what does it for you, huh?” He asked as he stretched out and opened his arms wide.

 

“Is it the spikes, the tail, or the impressive teeth?” He added.

 

“It’s not like that!” Yuuri yelled, flashing a hurt look at Yuri. “I don’t care about outward appearances; I never did. When everyone else talked about their ideal person, nothing physical would ever come to mind for me: not height, size, race or even gender. For some reason, If I can’t see who a person is on the inside, it’s like I can’t see them at all. I only seem to notice the physical after the fact, and even then it’s just the container for the person inside, another trait among the many. I know it’s weird, and many people don’t see it that way, but it’s how I-”

 

“Prove it,” Yuri cut in in a firm, unwavering voice. The lustful, mocking face was replaced with inquiry, seriousness and resolve.

 

Yuuri met his gaze head on, and for several moments they assessed one another. There was a fork in the road, and no matter what happened from this moment on, their friendship was going to change in one way or another.

 

“Okay,” Yuuri whispered, but Yuri heard him loud and clear. Assuredly, Yuuri walked over to the bed and sat beside him. He then leaned over and firmly pressed his lips against Yuri’s. Yuri didn’t offer any assistance or resistance, and for a long moment they stayed like that. Only when Yuuri pulled back did Yuri’s eyes open, looking into his. Yuri's eyes appeared as they did the night they first met, unveiled and fiercely searching for something. Yuuri leaned in to kiss him again, but Yuri shot forth quicker, pressing their lips together with such force that they fell back onto the bed. With their lower halves pressed together, Yuri was brought back to himself once he felt firm legs against his tail. Slowly, he pulled away to sit up while looking confused. Yuuri quickly pulled him back down, shifting so that they could lie side by side.

 

“That part of me is not the problem,” Yuri said with a wry smile when Yuuri ran his hand across his stomach. Facing each other, Yuuri could see the dejection in Yuri’s eyes.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Yura,” he said as he let his hand move down to trace over his tail. Yuri’s breath hitched, but he didn’t take his eyes off Yuuri.

 

Looking at the iridescent skin his fingers were gliding over, Yuuri was still amazed at how it felt no different from the pale skin above. He had always expected a merman’s tail to be covered in scales, but it was smooth and rubbery in texture, neither human nor fish. More importantly, it was Yuri’s skin, and the tiny gasps and sighs he received as he explored it made him appreciate it that much more.

 

“You should probably stop. We don’t have much control over our lower halves,” Yuri said in warning. Yuuri gave him a cheeky smile in response.

 

“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said and then purposeful shifted his hand towards Yuri’s genital opening. Oddly, he felt quite acquainted with this part of him, as he traced the edges with his finger, massaging around the rim.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Yuri breathed, finally closing his eyes. Only moments later did Yuuri get a hand and armful of Yuri’s erection, but this time he was prepared for it. Instead of letting it do all the work, he used his other hand to stabilize it, allowing him to stroke along its full length while stimulating the head as well.

 

Yuri was practically squirming off the bed, and had shoved a pillow over his face to keep from crying out. His calls could travel over a mile in water, and he didn’t want to test their distance in air. Yuuri’s neighbor’s were just a few feet away.

 

Seeing how Yuri’s tailfin was twitching erratically, Yuuri got an idea. Allowing Yuri’s erection to coil around his left arm, and reached down and applied pressure to the mounds at the base, rubbing in rapid circles. Immediately, Yuri arched off the bed, briefly losing the battle with his vocal chords as he squealed then went limp. The moment he regained a sliver of control over his body, he pressed a fierce kiss to Yuuri’s lips, before they both broke away, out of breath.

 

“Okay,” Yuri said after several minutes of silence punctuated with heavy breathing. “How does this all work?” He asked, gesturing all around them at nothing and at everything.

 

“Let's just roll with it, and figure it out as we go,” Yuuri said, and after thinking about it, Yuri nodded.

 

Both were tired, and it was still hours before sunrise. They could use some quality sleep.

 

“Yuuri?” Yuri whispered, causing brown eyes to open. They were met with unguarded green.

 

“I kissed you because I wanted to,” Yuri said. For a few moments, they gazed at one another.

 

“Okay,” Yuuri finally said, closing his eyes once more with a smile on his lips. Having gotten that off his chest, Yuri smiled, too; only now able to close his eyes as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Corner**
> 
> Alright guys, this will be a bit long, but after responding to a previous review, it got me thinking about it. A lot. There is a point to it, I promise.
> 
> Okay, there seems to be a major divergence between canon Yuuri and fanon Yuuri. In most of the fanfictions I've come across, Yuuri is this sweet, anxious guy that is overly considerate, loving and warm. He's welcoming, has sparkling brown eyes, and cares about all. He's the perfect cinnamon roll.
> 
> This baffles the hell out of me. Now, I am not the writing police. I will never force my interpretation of a character onto another writer. Being free to do what you want is what makes writing fun. Hell, you can write him with Vegeta's personality if you want. I'm just confused that this is what so many people got out of that show.
> 
> I think how it came to be finally made sense to me as I was writing this chapter. People forget to consider the voice a story is written in, and voice can greatly affect the audience's interpretation. The big three are third person omniscient, third person limited, and first person. YOI is told in first person, so the audience is given all of Yuuri's thoughts, emotions and motivations upfront. If he's crying, we know why. If he's being reclusive, we know why. The other characters, however, are not given this information, because it is supposed to be a realistic interpretation of life. We are not mind readers, so we have to go by a person's actions. If you watch YOI and ignore what he is telling us, only analyzing the information the other characters are getting through his actions, he is **outwardly** a bit of a dick. DON'T CLICK AWAY! 
> 
> I will explain why I say this, but first let me say that, obviously, I like the guy. I've watched the show more than once, I spend hours writing fiction with him as a focal character, and so forth. I like him in spite of his flaws, so hear me out.
> 
> He skated with Celestino for five years, and then left without giving a proper goodbye. Why? He largely felt that he had disappointed him and had hit a wall under his tutelage. BUT, he never shared that. He just got on a plane, and left for Japan. Imagine what Celestino is thinking and feeling? You see how much time Viktor put into his coaching with Yuuri? That's how most coaches are. He spent FIVE years with Celestino, yet didn't give him a simple call until he was forced to do so.
> 
> Viktor. As the audience, we know that Yuuri is anxious, shy and lacking in confidence. We also know that he is thrilled that Viktor is there and wants nothing more than to honor him. Viktor doesn't know that initially. How could he? This man gave up his skating career, and moved with his dog across the ocean to live in a place where he doesn't speak the language (Kubo confirmed this) to coach this man at his behest, yet was shut out. Yuuri had reasons, and they got beyond that, but Yuuri was still Yuuri in the end. HE bought engagement rings. Viktor happily accepted and all was going well, then a day later he calls it off, saying "Let's end this." He had reasons! He didn't want Viktor to sacrifice his own drive to stay with him out of his selfish request. BUT, he never told him that! Ever. He proposed, then a day later wanted to break it off. When the man started crying, he moves his hair so he can _really_ see the tears, and basically go, "Wow, you're actually crying over this." When Viktor tells him he's being selfish, in so many words he goes, "Maybe, but it's my decision. I'm retiring, so I don't need you as a coach. Return to the ice. That's that."
> 
> Mari. In East Asian culture, kids are expected to take care of their parents. If they get married, they'll take on the role when the parents are unable to stand alone. If they are not successful in love, they come back right away after college and help the family. In Yuuri's case, Mari stepped into the role in order to grant him freedom from this expectation. It is why she asked him in episode one, "What are your plans?" She was more than happen to continue supporting his dream, but she wanted to know where he stood. He didn't tell her because he didn't know himself. BUT, she didn't know that. He kept her in the dark instead of sharing that tidbit. He is so closed off that his own sister, the one that grew up in the same house with him and is supporting him, doesn't know what's on his mind. 
> 
> None of this means that Yuuri is an actual dick. But, until you force him into a position where he has to open up, he can come across as one. This is the Yuuri I wanted to portray in my story. He's not an easy person to get to know, and hell will freeze over before he just opens up to you. That's why I showcased how widely different his thoughts were from his responses to Yuri about his home life. But, if he gets comfortable around you, you'll see the special side of him that the YOI audience sees. Yuri is slowly getting to the Yuuri we know. ^_~


	10. The calm...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life of Yuri and Yuuri's changing relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, there are a few things I feel I should talk about right away.
> 
> 1) You may have noticed that I changed the rating from E to M. That isn't a sign that I am cutting anything or toning anything down in my story. The truth is, after reviewing this site, I really don't want nor think that this work belongs in the E category. This isn't true for all, but a lot of the stuff I've come across under E is sex focused versus sex supplemented. Also, after coming across straight up pedophilia (prepubescent) and rape (hardcore and glorified), and authors and readers alike getting aroused off it, I moved my stuff. If that is what people look for in E, they are going to be severely disappointed in this. I am all about consent, especially in today's climate. So, you can bet your ass if I write something about a rape, it will not be glorified. That shit turns my stomach, especially when you bring in animals and little kids. Yuck!
> 
> 2) I want to explain why I included that note last chapter. These last few chapters, beginning with the last, really highlight how I interpret Yuuri's character; and since it is quite different from how I normally see it portrayed, I wanted to provide a framework going forward. That note is going to be important, especially for the remaining two chapters. ^_~  
> 

“Hey, the barbecue is ready! Do you want a full plate or a small one?” Yuuri yelled from the kitchen.

 

“The biggest plate possible,” Yuri yelled back as he rubbed Anastasia. Yuuri nodded, and then quickly started stacking meat.

 

Just over two weeks had passed since their friendship had shifted, and both were sighing in relief that their daily lives hadn’t changed very much. Yuuri wasn’t the most emotionally accessible person, and he had been worried that he’d be expected to give more of himself than he could. Yuri had been worried that he’d be expected to become kinder and cuddlier. Instead, the sun rose and fell the same, and they stayed true to themselves. The only major shift came in some of their nightly activities.

 

“Cows are delicious. If I could somehow import them and fire to the water realm, I’d rule all of the oceans and seas,” Yuri said as he stuck a large chuck of smoking hot meat into his mouth. Yuuri’s mouth burned for him, so he took a sip of water on his behalf.

 

“You guys are so strange. You shrug at building sea structures that defy the human laws of science, yet a little flamed meat opens the door for monarchy,” he said as he shook his head at Yuri’s exuberance.

 

“Hey! You eat variations of the same thing across generations, and see just what becomes more important to you,” Yuri said as he gave Anastasia a small piece of his meat.

 

“Yura! I just spent a lot of money on some special cat food my advisor requested for her. Don’t give her our food, too,” Yuuri yelled. Without even acknowledging that he had heard him, Yuri passed the cat another bite of meat.

 

“You spoil her way too much,” Yuuri added with a heavy sigh. As if she understood the conversation, Anastasia daintily grabbed the meat, and then sauntered off with her tail held high.

 

“And that is exactly why I prefer dogs,” Yuuri mumbled as he stared after the prissy cat. Hearing the comment perfectly well, Yuri glared at him.

 

“You _would_ ,” he grumbled. “Of course you’d gravitate to the most annoying species on the planet,” he added, rolling his eyes to punctuate his statement.

 

“Yura, you’ve never even been around a dog; watching them on TV doesn’t count. In real life, dogs are-” Yuuri began.

 

“Ha!” Yuri interjected. “That shows what you know. I actually have been around a dog, and it was the single most irritating encounter I’ve had in my life.”

 

“Wait, how did you come across a dog?” Yuuri asked, intrigued.

 

“It happened last year when I crossed the dam,” Yuri began, and was immediately cut off.

 

“Yura!” Yuuri yelled, horrified.

 

“Damn it, don’t start! Do you want to hear this or not?” Yuri shouted back, and they both glared at each other. Far more interested in knowing just how close his idiot came to getting himself caught, Yuuri backed down.

 

“Go on,” he said.

 

“Like I was saying, I crossed the dam. Last year was unseasonably warm, so we migrated back earlier than usual. Since it was only mid April, and it was the dead of night, I figured it was the perfect time to explore the other side.

 

“For the most part, I was right. It was so dead you’d have thought they had rolled up the beach, so I figured it was safe to approach the shoreline. The closer I got, however, I noticed there was a guy sitting there looking off into nothing. I don’t know what was on his mind, but it looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders or something,” Yuri said.

 

“Did he see you?” Yuuri asked, worried.

 

“Yes and no,” Yuri said with a laugh.

 

“He was so still that I didn’t notice him until I was practically on top of him. Luckily, he had silver hair and pale features, so he stood out before I came close enough to expose my lower half. Even so, I froze for a moment, but he was so engrossed in whatever he was thinking about that he didn’t even see me. Considering myself lucky, I turned around and all would have been fine, but then that monstrosity appeared.”

 

“The dog,” Yuuri added, solemnly.

 

“Yeah, he had a damn dog with him,” Yuri glared, and Yuuri lowered his eyes as though it had belonged to him.

 

“No sooner do I get a few meters away, this giant pile of brown fuzz with an enormous tongue darts out into the water and slobbers all over me. I started yelling at it, yet that seemed to excite the beast even more.

 

“Finally, the damn guy looks up, and instead of retrieving his brain damaged sack of bones, he yells out that it’s friendly and is just trying to play. That’s when I knew I had to take matters into my own hands.”

 

“Don’t tell me, you hurt it?” Yuuri asked, and Yuri look scandalized.

 

“What the hell kind of bastard do you take me for? The thing was stupid and annoying, but I didn’t want it dead. I just growled at it in a frequency his human couldn’t hear. It got spooked and swam away, so I took my leave. Well, after I told his owner to go fuck himself,” Yuri said, and Yuuri just dropped his head, attempting to conceal his laughter.

 

“The guy was just fine getting cursed at by some person that disappeared into the sea?” He asked, wondering why he hadn’t heard about it on the news.

 

“Obviously, I didn’t just disappear from sight. I swam away human style until the coast was clear,” Yuri said, and Yuuri could only shake his head, giving up on hiding his amusement.

 

“Well, I guess I can see why you aren’t a fan of dogs, but that was just one encounter. I’m sure if you had met my Vicchan, you wouldn’t be saying that,” Yuuri said still smiling. Yuri didn’t miss that it was tinged with sadness, and his expression showed this recognition.

 

“He died,” Yuuri said, answering the unasked question.

 

“Originally, I was going to bring him to Russia with me, but I knew I wouldn’t have any spare time for him. So, I had planned on going back for him once I finished here, but he got hit by a car late last year,” he said softly. He then pulled out his phone, scrolled through his gallery, and then opened the folder containing dozens of pictures of Vicchan. Wordlessly, he handed the phone to Yuri.

 

‘He would have the same dog,’ Yuri thought as he noticed the dog greatly resembled the one that “greeted” him that night. This one was closer in size to Anastasia though, so that won him some points.

 

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen Yuuri look this happy,’ Yuri thought as he swiped from smiling frame to smiling frame. He saw pictures of a very young and chubby Yuuri holding an equally chubby puppy. He saw pictures of them playing in the snow. He saw pictures of them asleep in positions that looked truly uncomfortable. He saw pictures of them posing proud in matching scarves. It was like looking into a window and seeing far more than he had been prepared for.

 

“A dog seems fitting for you. A cat is too smart to allow itself to be photographed doing something as uncool as this,” he finally stated matter-of-factly as he came across a picture of both Yuuri and Vicchan wiping out on a frozen pond. He then flashed Yuuri a smile that said everything, yet nothing at all. It could only be described as _Yuri_. Immediately, Yuuri laughed, and then snatched his phone back.

 

“Vicchan was plenty cool. He even helped me with my footwork. Even though he fell as much as I did, he still came out onto the ice with me, and that picture proves it. Name one cat with that kind of devotion. I’m waiting,” he said as he looked fondly at his dog’s picture. After a moment, he noticed he hadn’t gotten a snappy comeback, and looked up. Yuri appeared thoroughly confused.

 

“What is this footwork you’re on about?” He asked, head slightly tilted to the side.

 

“Oh, _that_ ,” Yuuri said as he scrolled through his phone again.

 

“My original goal wasn’t to become a scientist, you know. I had planned on becoming a figure skater so that I could share the ice with my idol, Viktor Nikiforov,” he added as he passed Yuri his phone again. He then abashedly dipped his head to shield his face, while the merman watched his younger self skate across the ice.

 

“This is actually a career?” Yuri asked, confused.

 

“For a select few, yes. I was never good at jumping, so I worked on steps and sequences, the footwork. Vicchan helped by running around my feet. I had to be very agile to avoid injuring him,” Yuuri said. As though mesmerized, Yuri silently watched the old footage.

 

‘It’s like defying nature,’ he thought.

 

For sea creatures, the ice was something that had to be outswam. Yet, here was a person using it as something to not only step on, but dance and play on. The ice was being brought to heel.

 

“Isn’t it great?” Yuuri asked. His face then further lit up, showing more exuberance than Yuri had ever seen from him.

 

“I know! I’ll show you real figure skating. I’ve long left the ice, but I still try to keep up with Viktor when I get a chance,” he added, as he quickly shifted his TV’s input. He then cast a video from his phone to the screen. “This is Viktor’s gold medal performance from back in March.”

 

‘What the hell is he getting so excited for?’ Yuri thought as he watched the screen, feeling slightly salty. After a rain of applause, Viktor skated into the frame.

 

“No fucking way! That is the same damn dude!” Yuri yelled as he sat up and gestured toward the screen. Bewildered, Yuuri shot him a look, but Yuri just got more animated.

 

“That is the dude I saw on the beach with the dumbass dog. I’d recall that idiot anywhere,” he said, and Yuuri nearly fell off the coach.

 

“ _That_ was who you saw? You saw _the_ Viktor Nikiforov and Makkachin?” He asked, eyes widened.

 

“Yeah, I saw them alright. I would have rather not,” Yuri said, and Yuuri just hung his head in defeat.

 

‘I can’t believe it. I took up figure skating, adopted a poodle and named it Viktor, talked my family into visiting Russia, and have now been in Russia for over five years, yet haven’t seen hide nor hair of him. How can my luck be so bad?’ Yuuri thought with a sigh. ‘A _merman_ literally popped out of the sea on a whim, and got to meet him before I even I got a chance to see him. Now, I truly know that it wasn’t meant to be.’

 

“What the hell are you getting so down about? Are you seriously getting this bent out of shape over not meeting some guy?” Yuri practically growled. Hearing the venom in his voice, Yuuri abruptly halted his thoughts, and then lifted his gaze.

 

‘Huh?’ He thought. Yuri was not just glaring at him, he looked downright murderous.

 

“Well, it’s not just _some_ guy, but I’m not overly depressed or anything either,” Yuuri said as he averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, shyly. “I guess I’ve just always wanted to thank him personally for being there. To me, he represented everything I wasn’t, and he made it look so effortless. It inspired me to try something different, and even though I didn’t stick with it, having experience with trying new things made me confident enough to shift into a field I knew nothing about: marine biology.”

 

Yuri wasn’t impressed.

 

“You make it sound like he’s some savior. He skated his ass across frozen water, not solved the conundrum of the space-time continuum,” he said before shifting his eyes back to the screen, glaring at the image of Viktor waving to the crowd from the kiss-and-cry. Yuuri just gaped at him, stunned.

 

‘Is he…’

 

“Yura, are you jealous?” He asked as his mind and mouth moved at the same time.

 

“What the hell do I have to be jealous for?! You’re not even worth getting jealous over,” Yuri exploded, and then promptly shifted his glare back to the screen, the clip now over.

 

‘He’s totally jealous,’ Yuuri thought, then let his ego swell.

 

“Well, even if you aren’t grateful to Viktor, I am. Following behind him is what originally brought me here,” he said, and Yuri was so mad that his tail fins were swaying in a staccato fashion.

 

“But, meeting you is what made me move here,” Yuuri added, and Yuri’s eyes flashed a glowing green.

 

“Oh, yeah right! Fuck off, and eat shit!” He said, making Yuuri laugh.

 

“It’s true. How else do you explain my career choices?” He asked, but Yuri remained silent. He did look more amenable though.

 

“Without seeing Viktor skate, I would have still been in Hasetsu doing who knows what. Instead, I’m here with you. I think that’s worthy enough for a thanks,” Yuuri added with a smile.

 

“If that’s the case, I need to hit him in the shin for cursing me with you,” Yuri said, now more irritated than pissed off. Yuuri simply laughed at him.

 

“Come on, grouch. I want to show you something,” he said, and then picked Yuri up before he could respond. Yuri immediately started thrashing to get free, but from experience, Yuuri knew to hold him away from his body and facing away from him altogether. That stopped him from headbutting, wrapping around him, or smacking him with his tail. He still had his teeth and spikes, but Yuri never used those outside of a serious fight. All he could do was squirm.

 

“Just wait until I get big. You won’t be able to manhandle me anymore,” Yuri quietly grumbled to himself as Yuuri carried him into their room.

 

Quickly, Yuuri placed him on the bed, and then retracted the blinds until only glass showed. They could see clearly across the yard into the neighbor’s house, and to punctuate that, a woman walked by her window. Yuri instantly crouched down.

 

“It’s okay. I found this window film that allows us to see out without anyone seeing in as long as the lights are out,” Yuuri said, before joining Yuri on the bed.

 

“This means we can see this,” he added as he tilted Yuri’s head up. From their vantage point, they could see the night sky and every star that shone above them.

 

“I put it up while you were away, so it’d be a surprise,” Yuuri said, proud of himself. Yuri just stared at the sky in wonder. It had been so long since he could just relax and openly gaze at it.

 

“That’s the Ursa Major constellation,” Yuuri announced, before he started rattling off tales about Western mythology versus what he grew up hearing. He became particularly engrossed in a story about Amenominakanushi, a Japanese god. He didn’t even notice that Yuri was now looking at him instead of the sky.

 

“Another interesting thing I heard about him was that he… What?” He asked once he glanced over and saw green eyes firmly trained on him. Yuri just shook his head, and smiled wickedly.

 

“You talk entirely too much,” he said, and before Yuuri could react to the insult, Yuri pushed their lips together, silencing him. Briefly, Yuuri went motionless, but quickly gathered himself and pulled Yuri into his lap. This was how things normally went with them. Yuri always started as the aggressor, while Yuuri was the closer. A lot of that was due to Yuri’s limitations. They still hadn’t figured out how Yuri could explore him without causing damage to one or both of them, so Yuuri took over.

 

“Hey Yura, I want to try something a bit different,” Yuuri whispered, yet his face colored as if he had screamed it.

 

“This something different is something perverted, isn’t?” Yuri asked slyly, and Yuuri turned redder. Yuri just laughed.

 

“Lay it on me,” he said, and Yuuri averted his eyes as though he was the one being propositioned. He then gathered his resolve, and fiercely pressed his lips to Yuri’s, practically knocking the breath from the merman. Even when a small mixture of their blood, courtesy of Yuri’s teeth, pooled across their joined lips, they didn’t pull away. Only a lack of oxygen did the trick.

 

“Promise me you won’t watch,” Yuuri said as he licked his lips. He then leaned forward and licked the blood from Yuri’s lips as well. Yuri merely quirked an eyebrow at him.

 

“Fine,” he said before quickly kissing him, and then laying back on his crossed hands and shutting his eyes. Hesitating only a moment, Yuuri kissed him once more, before trailing his lips and tongue down Yuri’s chest and stomach. Not receiving a visual warning of what was to come, Yuri’s skin quivered at the point of contact.

 

‘Alright Yuuri, it’s now or never,’ Yuuri said to himself once he reached the iridescent skin. Slowly, he continued down the front of the tail where he knew Yuri’s erection was tucked away. Yuri instantly grabbed Yuuri’s hair, before loosening his grip and running his spikes along his scalp. Emboldened, Yuuri followed the path back up, stopping at Yuri’s genital opening. Licking once, twice, he then covered it with his mouth, and dipped his tongue inside. Yuri’s eyes instantly shot open, and only Yuuri placing pressure on his center, stopped his erection from springing forth.

 

“Damn it, Yuuri,” Yuri moaned breathlessly before shutting his eyes, trying to keep his promise. His body was starting to tremble all over, and he was slowly losing control of his limbs.

 

“Bear with me,” Yuuri mumbled distractedly, as he pulled back, and released the pressure. Before Yuri’s erection could completely emerge, Yuuri caught and coiled it, gripping the head in his hand. Using his fingers to pull back the flaps, he let his thumb trace over the head, spreading seminal fluid across the tip.

 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Yuuri, what are you doing?” Yuri asked, trying his best to keep his voice steady. Yuuri answered by sucking Yuri’s tip into his mouth, swallowing down the continuous stream of liquid as though he was sipping from a straw. Unable to take anymore, Yuri sat up with bleary eyes and saw Yuuri’s head bobbing on his cock.

 

“Oh, holy hell!” Yuri exclaimed, before falling back down. That was definitely not something found in merman sex unless you wanted to wind up dickless. His body didn’t even know how to process such a foreign sensation.

 

“Yuuri! I’m gonna… I’m…” he tried to speak, but Yuuri just added more pressure. Immediately, his body convulsed uncontrollably, as his hands splayed out by his side. His spikes protracted on their own accord, and he couldn’t even catch his breath long enough to vocalize. He was just trying to temper the waves of stimulation that seemed to radiate all the way through his tail fins.

 

“No more!” Yuri finally breathed as he pushed Yuuri off. He then curled into a ball as he tried to get his trembling under control. Adrenaline on high, Yuuri flopped onto his back, and tried to catch his breath. Absentmindedly, he licked his lips repeatedly as he committed Yuri’s flavor to memory.

 

‘Wow,’ he thought, still surprised that he had done something so bold. What was more surprising was that he wanted to do it again and again. Yuri didn’t look too up for it though.

 

“Yura, you okay?” Yuuri asked as he moved the blond hair from Yuri’s eyes.

 

‘He really is beautiful,’ Yuuri thought as he watched the merman’s eyes flutter open. He was dazed and completely blissed out, which removed the hardened look he often wore.

 

“I’m fine you fucking pervert,” Yuri mumbled, then smiled once his eyes focused. Yuuri swiftly colored.

 

“Oh, don’t act shy now; the cat’s out of the bag. I knew you were hiding something behind that innocent face,” Yuri said as he pulled himself closer to Yuuri, nuzzling his neck, and making him sigh.

 

“Just one question,” he said, as he moved back.

 

“Hmm?” Yuuri murmured, relaxed.

 

“Just where did you learn that technique, and who did you practice on?” Yuri asked, eyes glowing green.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL, I know what some of you may be thinking.
> 
> 'How in the hell is she going to end this in two chapters?'
> 
> The truth is, as harmless as this chapter looks, I spilled tea all over the place. The previous three chapters in particular are huge for the final two chapters. I can't wait to get them out! ^_^


	11. No Fairytales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Yuri have to swallow a bitter dose of reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to take this time to thank you guys for following along. This isn't the final chapter, but I can't express how grateful I am to still get new readers each day. I'm especially blown away by the people who have been following along since day one even after a long, unannounced hiatus. The end is almost here!

‘It’s really starting to get cold,’ Yuuri thought as he looked out the window and could actually see the frost dancing on the wind. As if a switch had been flipped, November brought the winter; and in just three weeks time, the temperature had already dropped to freezing point.

 

‘It’s amazing how fast things can change,’ he thought as he reflected over the past few months. His life had always been straight and narrow, and he was still on that course with an extremely successful field season and his first paper being submitted in two weeks. But, he couldn’t deny that he was changing.

 

Instead of pulling long hours at the lab, and then diligently working into the night as he did his first semester, he was leaving the moment he hit his time quota in order to race home and do seemingly mundane things; as if anything involving Yuri was ever mundane. Washing dishes often led to water fights that left the kitchen tile soaked; cooking often led to chef wars that resulted in too much food; and general cleaning almost always led to competitions on who could do it faster, which doubled the time as they secretly sabotaged each other’s assigned rooms. While other couples had “date nights” to keep themselves entertained, they watched movies and played games to unwind from all of the “entertainment.”

 

It was in these moments that Yuuri truly contemplated how much he was shifting. Normally, he was charged with being distant, repressed, antisocial and even cold at times. Now, he was starting to feel like a bit of a blabbermouth, especially when he would mention something in passing, and Yuri would not only know what he was talking about, but who he was talking about. He nearly choked on his own saliva the first time he heard the merman say Mari’s name as though she merely lived next door.

 

‘Maybe it’s a quarter-life crisis,’ he thought as he recalled his recent recklessness.

 

_“What the hell are you doing?” Yuri yelled after the camera flash left his eyes feeling swirly._

 

_“Don’t worry! I figured we could just take a couple of pictures for ourselves. I have a printer and photograph paper here, so they won’t leave the house or reach the cloud. And once we print, I can just destroy the SD card so there’s no chance of recovery,” Yuuri said, while happily holding the camera. Yuri just glared at him, before mumbling to himself._

 

_“Fine. But, I’m taking the next one!”_

 

The next day, Yuuri went out to buy something to help hide their treasures. He wound up with a watch that had a secret compartment, while Yuri wound up with an oval-shaped, golden locket. The same one he was currently wearing.

 

“Hey Yuuri, the postman just left a big ass package at the door. I almost exposed myself trying to pull it in. Luckily, nobody’s outside,” Yuri said as he wheeled into the living room. Wordlessly, Yuuri got up to investigate.

 

“It’s from everyone back in Hasetsu. My mom said it was coming, but I’m surprised it got here so soon,” he said as he carried the package into the living room. Upon opening it, he saw an assortment of pocky, mochi candy, gummies and chewies. He also saw various teas, packaged noodles, special sauces and spices, in addition to a few sweaters, jeans, scarves and hats.

 

“What’s that?” Yuri asked as he lifted a smaller box from the larger one.

 

“Gag gifts. It’s my family’s custom to send gag gifts with real gifts. Don’t even bother opening it,” Yuuri said as he shook his head with a smile. Yuri promptly opened it.

 

The first thing he pulled out was a pillow shaped like a woman’s legs.

 

“What the…” he uttered, and Yuuri quickly snatched it away and pushed it under the couch.

 

“Thanks Mom,” he grumbled to himself.

 

‘Mom?!’ Yuri thought with widened eyes, before a cheeky grin spread across his face.

 

“Oh, this is going to be good!” He said aloud, before diving back in. The next thing he pulled out was a pack of condoms that couldn’t possible fit on a worm. Those were snatched and tossed as well. A faint, “Damn it, Dad,” was heard, and Yuri was cackling.

 

Next was a black tee with leopard print sleeves and a snarling leopard on the front.

 

“Minako,” Yuuri said as he shook his head. Upon getting no reaction, he looked at Yuri to see him completely enamored with the shirt.

 

“Don’t tell me you like that?” Yuuri asked as he gaped at the merman.

 

“Hell yeah, I do!” Yuri said, and then swiftly removed the borrowed, white tee he wore to exchange it for his new one. Yuuri just wiped a hand down his face in disdain.

 

‘That’s surprisingly tame for Minako,’ he thought. In answer, Yuri pulled out something else with the same print. It was a g-string with a tail attached. Stunned, they both stared at each other, wide-eyed.

 

“Aww hell!” Yuri finally yelled as he played keep-away with Yuuri while hysterically laughing. Eventually laughing won out, and Yuuri wrestled the underwear away from him.

 

‘Alright Mari, what did you put in here?’ Yuuri thought as grabbed the box. He didn’t want to add to the, currently wheezing, merman’s entertainment, so he was going to retrieve the final item himself.

 

“I should have known,” he said once he unrolled the giant poster. After getting random, excited texts for over a year about some boy band he cared nothing about, he begged Mari to leave him in peace. She begrudgingly did… until she didn’t.

 

“Who the hell are they?” Yuri asked after he finally dried his eyes enough to look at the poster.

 

“Mari’s obsession,” Yuuri said plainly. He really didn’t get what the appeal was, but Mari had been into boy bands since they were kids.

 

‘I guess some things never change,’ he thought, as he quickly scanned over each guy. Instantly he zeroed in on the lone, long-haired member of the group.

 

‘No way!’ He thought.

 

“You know, it’s kind of weird looking at you in human form,” he said aloud.

 

“Huh?” Yuri asked, frowning. Yuuri just pointed to the guy. Immediately, Yuri’s face changed to one of shock before he took the poster to really look at it. Yuuri took that moment to put everything else away. It took a good fifteen minutes, so he was surprised to see Yuri still staring at his human counterpart.

 

“Interesting,” Yuri finally mumbled as he neatly folded the poster and set it on the table. He then stretched his arms and back, before wordlessly wheeling into their room. Yuuri didn’t miss the unreadable expression on his face.

 

‘What’s with him?’ Yuuri thought as he stared after Yuri. Mostly, their lives were smooth, but every now and then, Yuuri could feel that something was wearing on Yuri, and he had no clue how to fix it. He was shit at properly handling his own issues, so taking on someone else’s was far beyond him. Still, he felt the need to try.

 

“Hey, Yura?” He called as he followed behind him. He walked in to see Yuri gazing out of the window.

 

“How long do you think this can last?” Yuri asked, nearly causing Yuuri to stop breathing.

 

“What?” He asked, dumbfounded.

 

“It’s not like I can ever enter the workforce and help pay bills. I can’t be seen outside, so we’ll never get to go on holiday together. Hell, I can’t even be with you properly. Jerking yourself off is going to get old really fast,” Yuri continued, looking at him headon. He then let out a self-deprecating laugh, before giving a smile that held more sadness than joy.

 

“You’re going to get tired of me, eventually,” he added.

 

Yuuri couldn’t speak for his mind was racing. So many rebuttals passed through so quickly, he couldn’t even hold on to them. He wanted to say that money was never an issue for his family, and even if it was, the sacrifice was worth it. He wanted to explain how being with him felt like a vacation, a vacation from the constant stress of having to go out into society and interact with others. He wanted to confess that for once in his life he felt semi-normal in his sexuality by even being able to now claim himself a sexual being. It far beat him having anxiety attacks following heavy petting sessions with random people, which were largely brought on from drinking himself silly once every year or so. Instead, all he could do was stare.

 

“You’re such an idiot,” he finally said with a smile after relaxing himself. Yuri looked torn between anger and disbelief.

 

“Yura,” Yuuri called, before Yuri could speak. “None of those things matter to me. Even if there was a human you walking around, I would choose the one in front of me again and again because I’m already happier than I ever imagined.”

 

Stunned, Yuri gazed at him, and Yuuri met it. For long moments, they stared at one another, and so many words passed between them without either uttering any. Eventually, Yuri averted his eyes.

 

“You do know that it’s your turn to cook, right? Then again, I found a new Olivier salad recipe that’s supposed to be Asian inspired. Maybe, I’ll make that,” Yuuri said as he walked out of the room.

 

“Like hell you will!” Yuri yelled as he quickly followed behind him.

 

They wound up making beef stroganoff and bread rolls, before playing every trivia game in the house. Yuuri was salty to discover that Yuri, a merman, now knew more human factoids than he did. Even worse, he had to listen to him gloat until they went to bed.

 

“Yuuri, you really suck on the knowledge front. I mean, you’re good for a human, I guess. But, seriously,” Yuri said with a grin as he reclined on the bed. Yuuri promptly shut his eyes to block him out.

 

‘Just wait until tomorrow,’ he thought, while listening to Yuri laugh.

 

***

 

‘Huh?’ Yuuri thought after he opened his eyes and was met with green. The sensation of being watched had pulled him from sleep, but he was still surprised to actually see it happening.

 

“Is something wrong?” He asked after glancing at the clock to see that it was two in the morning.

 

“Nah, I’ve just been thinking,” Yuri said, before practically springing into a sitting position. He was clearly just as awake as he had been three hours ago. Realizing this, Yuuri sat up as well.

 

“About what?” Yuuri asked with a touch of weariness. The atmosphere didn’t feel somber, but an excited Yuri could be just as bad.

 

“I have an idea. Let’s give it a try,” Yuri said as his eyes flashed, making Yuuri pull away from him. Yuri was practically oozing with sexual energy, and Yuuri was a bit bowled over by it.

 

“Um, okay,” Yuuri said, and Yuri just about pounced on him. Before Yuuri could even process what was going on, he had been divested of all his clothes; and Yuri was sitting on him, openly assessing his body. The full body blush was immediate, and Yuri snickered at him.

 

“Jeez, don’t just stare at me,” Yuuri mumbled, looking away. The feel of a hand on his crotch swiftly returned his gaze.

 

Yuri was looking at him with determination and intrigue. So many times they had gone down this path, but had hit many a dead end. Sharp, jagged teeth killed any chance of a blow job; a penis well over two feet long, that couldn’t be controlled, removed anal from the table; and spikes that prevented the formation of a fist impeded handjobs, at least for penises that were circular instead of oval. It had seemed like a fruitless venture to them both, but Yuuri could see that something had renewed Yuri’s hope.

 

“What are you-” Yuuri started, sitting up a bit, and was swiftly pushed back down.

 

“Pipe down, and chill! I’ve got this,” Yuri said with a glare before returning his attention back to Yuuri’s genitalia.

 

‘O...k…,’ Yuuri thought as he tried to relax. Without warning, Yuri spit into his hands, rubbed them together, then grabbed Yuuri’s cock. Surprised at the pressure, Yuuri looked down to see that Yuri had sandwiched it between both of his hands, giving him more control.

 

‘Oh,’ was all he could think as Yuri rolled it between his palms, and used the webbing between his fingers to massage the head. Yuri’s palms weren’t as smooth as a human’s, and the webbing was as soft as lips. The combination of friction and gentleness had Yuuri hard in no time. He had always been excessively sensitive, and it had been ages since someone else had touched him.

 

“Yura,” he moaned as he twisted, allowing the sensation to ride through his body.

 

“Cum, and I’ll kill you. My idea is bigger than this,” Yuri said, before leaning down and adding his lips to the equation. He may not be able to give a blowjob, but the insides of his lips were warm, wet and soft. Having head, rod and balls all stimulated at once left Yuuri practically arching in half as his legs quaked. Only the shortening gasps made Yuri jerk back, stopping mere seconds before Yuuri would have gone over the edge.

 

“I told you not to cum, idiot,” Yuri said with labored breath as he leaned back on his hands. He then directed his hands toward his own genitals, rubbing until his own cock emerged.

 

“Alright, let’s do this,” he mumbled as he grabbed Yuuri’s penis with one hand while holding his own in the other. Confused and overstimulated, Yuuri watched with bated breath. They had already tried this, but his penis was too short for Yuri’s to coil around it.

 

‘What is he planning?’ Yuuri thought, before pure pleasure coursed through his body.

 

“Kimochi!” He nearly screamed, briefly switching to Japanese as he fell back from the shock of the intense stimulation. No, Yuri’s penis couldn’t coil around his, but it could use the flaps to practically suction the two heads together.

 

“Oh my god, it worked. It fucking worked,” Yuri breathed as he collapsed against Yuuri, shivering from feeling this sensation for the first time ever. He had been a virgin before Yuuri, so this was the first time he had ever experienced anything close to normal merman sex.

 

‘This is too much,’ Yuuri thought as he brought his arms around the boy who was trembling against him. He didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about how Yuri’s penis thought the tip of his was an ovary, so he just let himself feel. He felt how the heads rubbed together as warm seminal fluid mixed, and leaked down his shaft. He felt how the flaps throbbed and pulsated, seemingly attaching directly to his nerve endings and stealing his breath. More importantly, he felt Yuri squeeze him firmly with his eyes shut just as tightly, trying not to drown in more passion than he was ready for. It was all too much.

 

“I’m coming,” he breathed, yet Yuri went rigid first. Quickly, Yuuri pressed their lips together to keep Yuri from screaming out as loudly as his voice could reach. Tightly, he held him while they both came down.

 

“Holy fuck,” Yuri gasped, trying to brush his hair from his eyes, but feeling too boneless to make a difference.

 

“That was some idea,” Yuuri said, still breathing heavily, and faced still flushed. Yuri just looked at him with an open smile.

 

“Now, it’s not just me,” he said before instantly falling asleep. Yuuri quickly followed.

 

Instead of another round of trivia the next day, they tested out the “idea” twice more before Yuri had to return to the sea.

 

***

 

“What in the world?” Yuuri uttered as he stared at the large, synthetic pine tree sitting in his living room.

 

“You mentioned that you celebrate Christmas in Japan, and it always looked interesting in movies, so I ordered this online. I’ll decorate the bottom; you do the top,” Yuri said after appearing from the other side of the tree.

 

Yuuri looked down to see that Yuri had bulbs, lights, tinsel, garland, bows, candy canes and even a star.

 

‘He went all out,’ Yuuri thought as he joined in. Peeking through the tree, he could see a carefree, nearly cherubic smile on Yuri’s face as he decorated. Normally, it would have filled him with joy, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Since he had retrieved him yesterday, Yuri was abnormally happy, but that wasn’t the atmosphere when he had been in the sea.

 

When Yuuri had showed up, the distance between Nikolai and Yuri made Yuuri feel colder than the water he was swimming in. Never had he felt such a vibe from them, even during the first confrontation he witnessed between the two. It felt like the fracturing of a bond.

 

“I think it looks pretty good, even Ana thinks so,” Yuri said as he watched the cat waddle under the pine, and then rest on the tree skirt.

 

“It’s certainly better than anything I’ve come up with since I’ve been here,” Yuuri said, making Yuri grin.

 

“Okay, if we’re going to do this right, we have to have cocoa and candy canes. Maybe I should buy the stuff for a cake, too,” Yuuri added as he walked into the kitchen, quickly pulling out chocolate and mugs.

 

“Hey, how much longer until Ana has her kittens?” Yuri called out as he rubbed the cats belly.

 

“Honestly, I was expecting them to be here by now. If she doesn’t have them by December first, I’m taking her to the vet,” Yuuri yelled back.

 

“You hear that?” Yuri whispered. “Hurry up and have them girl, or that asshole is going to intervene.”

 

Yuuri quickly peeked a perturbed face around the corner, before shaking his head at Yuri’s antics.

 

Even though he hadn’t made it in years, the cocoa was the right amount of frothy and sweet, and the mint gave it the perfect kick. Laughing at cheesy Christmas cartoons on Netflix with a blinking tree in the background made Yuuri feel like he was back home. Still, when the night came with Yuri asleep against his shoulder, slumber didn’t come for him. His instincts were screaming at him. He had to talk to Nikolai.

 

***

 

Not waiting another day, Yuuri reached the gulf just before four in the morning. Now, with trepidation in his heart, the water seemed significantly darker and colder than it did two days ago. Luckily, Nikolai began pulling him along before he could think too much on it.

 

‘I didn’t plan this well. What if he didn’t sense my presence?’ Yuuri thought as they rapidly approached the merman’s home. Eight turns later, they were in the back tunnel of the sea cabin.

 

“Has something happened?” Nikolai asked the moment they stopped moving. His face was placid, but his eyes were terrified. Hurriedly, Yuuri tried to set him at ease.

 

“No, everything’s fine!” He said with raised hands, causing Nikolai to heave a sigh of relief. He then ran his hands over his face, further trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

 

“I’m sorry I worried you,” Yuuri said, drawing the merman’s attention. Yuuri didn’t meet his gaze.

 

“I know this is a bit impromptu, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. The last time I was here, things were tense, and now I’m worried that Yura is hiding something,” he said softly, eyes trained on the water.

 

“So, he didn’t tell you,” Nikolai stated moreso then asked. Yuuri’s eyes met his right before the merman looked off in the distance. That split second was enough to haunt Yuuri.

 

“Yurochka, what are you doing?” Nikolai whispered.

 

“Please, tell me what’s going on,” Yuuri begged, and Nikolai could only sigh.

 

“Winter is upon us. Soon, these waters will freeze, so we need to leave this area. We normally migrate in three waves; those with small children left at the beginning of the month, those with older kids and the elderly left roughly two weeks ago, and the last of us will leave by this month’s end. Come December first, these waters will be completely devoid of merman life, and many other species are following suit. The other side of the dam has already begun to freeze, and it’s only a matter of time before it reaches this side.

 

“Yurochka and I were supposed to leave in the second wave, but he hesitated. He was torn between his life on land, and his life in the sea. We argued for days about it, and I thought I was finally getting through to him, but that all changed the last time he returned. I don’t know what happened, but something has him convinced that he can stay above the sea. He is adamant that he will overwinter with you on land,” Nikolai said.

 

“But, he can’t!” Yuuri yelled as different scenarios played out in his head. It was one thing to take Yuri out of the water for a few days at a time, but for five months with no possibility of him being able to return?

 

“I tried to explain that, but he just shut me out. I think his battle between the surface and the sea has come to an end, and the surface has won. I can’t reach him anymore,” Nikolai said, and the sadness in his voice was so thick Yuuri nearly choked on it.

 

‘I’m such an idiot. How did I not see this coming?’ Yuuri thought as he recalled the previous mentions of merman migration, the water closures in preparation for the cold season, and most importantly, the fluctuating emotions Yuri increasingly displayed.

 

“Ojiisan, please pack Yura’s things. He will most definitely be migrating with you,” Yuuri stated with such will that Nikolai was left speechless.

 

***

 

When Yuri woke up, he was surprised to not only find himself alone, but Yuuri’s side of the bed was cold as well. Quickly, he got up and went in the living room to see Yuuri resting his head in his hands.

 

“You’re up early. It’s not even sunrise, yet,” Yuri said as he wheeled in. The moment their eyes met, he stopped in his tracks.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Yuuri asked, drawing a look of shock from Yuri. As he picked up the hint of seawater scenting the air, Yuri scowled before rolling his eyes.

 

“Because it didn’t concern you. Besides, it’s settled now,” he said, flippantly, before relaxing his face once more. Yuuri’s face remained drawn.

 

“It doesn’t concern me, and it’s settled?” He repeated, flabbergasted. “You’re nuts if you think I’m letting you stay here.”

 

Yuri swiftly went from docile to pissed in three-point-five seconds.

 

“Fuck off! Just like I told my grandfather, you can’t tell me what to do! I’ve already made my decision,” he yelled.

 

“And I’m telling you the decision isn’t just yours to make! Have you forgotten that this is my house? If I say you can’t stay here, you’re out of options. You can’t stay on land without a sponsor!” Yuuri yelled back, and immediately, Yuri’s face crumbled.

 

“A sponsor?” He practically whispered. “You did not just say that.”

 

The hurt in Yuri’s eyes was completely unveiled, but Yuuri didn’t retract his words. He had already made up his mind that he would get the merman to return to the sea by any means necessary, even if he had to shatter both of their hearts to do it.

 

“Fine,” Yuri growled, his voice nearly silent. Without another word, he went into their room, and started loudly packing his things. Each thump and thud, Yuuri felt in his chest. It became so great that he had to enter the room to be sure that he wasn’t the victim of a voodoo doll.

 

“Don’t fucking come near me!” Yuri yelled, eyes glowing as he threw something at Yuuri. On reflex, Yuuri caught it, and looked down to see the locket. With a flick of his thumb, he was looking at the picture of him and Yuri cheek to cheek. They had been in the bath, and Yuri had randomly draped his arm around him, pulling him close. He then flashed a picture that caught Yuuri looking surprised, while Yuri himself winked and smiled large. Since they were both wet and only seen from the shoulders up, Yuri had joked that no one could tell they were different species.

 

_“If anyone asks, you’re a merman as far I know,” he said, before laughing at Yuuri’s put out look._

 

Caught in the memory, Yuuri aimlessly walked over to the bed and plopped down, still gazing at the picture. All his life, he had been able to walk away from people without a glance back. The few friends he had, he drifted apart from nearly a decade ago. Even his own family, whom he loved dearly, he spent half a decade away from. Now, everything in him was screaming at him, "Hold onto this person; don’t let it end like this." For the first time in his life, he was scared to death of what his inaction would bring.

 

“Do you honestly believe I don’t want you here? Do you think I want this any more than you do?” Yuuri asked, quietly. Yuri didn’t stop packing.

 

“What did you expect?” Yuri asked in return, before pausing. So angry and hurt that he was shaking, he finally turned to face Yuuri.

 

“What the fuck did you expect?! You’re a human and I’m a merman. You live on land, and I’m from the sea; there’s no inbetween! I tried to tell you that, but you told me to trust you, and I did. I knew this shit wouldn’t work, but like a dumbass, I tried it anyway. I still at least tried!” He added, voice nearly breaking at the end. Dismayed, Yuuri walked over and tried to rest his hand on Yuri’s shoulder. It was slapped away before it even met skin.

 

“Yura, please! Just because we have to be apart right now doesn’t mean we can’t be together. I’m willing to wait for you as long as it takes,” Yuuri said, and Yuri just let out a humorless laugh.

 

“You don’t get it, do you? We migrate out to the center of the sea for roughly five months of the year. Are you okay with being together only half, **_NO_ ** , a quarter of the year? Don’t forget that even when I’m here I have to go back and forth to the sea to not arouse suspicion,” Yuri said. Without even thinking about it, Yuuri had his answer.

 

“I hate this, all of this,” Yuri spoke before he could speak. “I hate that the mermen won’t accept you. I hate that the humans won’t let me into your world. I hate that I can’t wave a wand and change myself to make all of this right,” he added.

 

Silently, Yuuri stared at him, fighting the anger that was now rolling off him in waves.

 

“Never again do I want to hear you say something like that,” Yuuri said, confusing Yuri.

 

“I never want you to change,” he clarified, as he crouched in front of Yuri. “This tail makes you fast, and lets you escape danger. These spikes help you fight, and live another day. These teeth come in clutch when all else have failed. All of these things help me sleep better at night, because I know you’re safe. I love them for that.”

 

Without a word, Yuri turned back around, but he didn’t continue packing. For long moments, he just sat there. Only upon closer inspection did Yuuri realize Yuri’s shoulders were shaking. Furiously, Yuri wiped the tears from his eyes, but they just came quicker. Eventually, he gave in and sobbed into his hands.

 

“What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to just live for nearly half the year not even knowing if you’re still alive? That’s fucking torture,” he finally said after he regained control of himself.

 

“You want to know my version of torture? Having you here, and constantly being afraid that if something happens to me, you’ll be caught and picked apart. You’re smart, so I have no doubt you could make it back to sea somehow. But, when you get there, you’ll be met with a sheet of ice tens of centimeters thick. Even if your spikes can make an opening, either the hypothermia or the lack of air holes for kilometers out would get you before you could get away. For that, I could never forgive myself, even in death.

 

“This is truly the only way. I know how to navigate the land, and you know how to navigate the sea. We’ll get through this season, and then reunite again,” Yuuri said.

 

“Then what? We do it again next year, and the year after that?” Yuri asked, completely drained.

 

“No,” Yuuri said with determination. “Give me some time to think. I’m going to fix this somehow. Please, trust me a little longer.”

 

Silently, they stared into each other’s eyes. In such a short time, they had been through so much together. The only thing they always had was trust.

 

“Tomorrow is your birthday. Can I at least stay until then?” Yuri asked, quietly. He was immediately pulled into Yuuri’s lap and into a fierce hug.

 

“Of course!” Yuuri said as he squeezed the warmth against him he knew he would soon be missing.

 

***

 

The next day, they ate cake, played games, watched a movie, and cooked pork cutlet bowls. They then shared one more night together, before Yuuri returned Yuri to the sea in the dark hours of the morning. When he returned, Anastasia had started having her kittens under the tree. Hours later, snow fell in blankets. The long winter had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was tough to write. This was the final chapter that really pulled all of the little nuances and hidden nuggets together, so I had to go over it several times to make sure I didn't miss anything. I'm so glad this is done! Even though there is another chapter, this one felt like the end in terms of required effort. Whew!
> 
> So, what did you guys think? Did you see this coming? I've been dropping hints for quite some time. Did anybody catch them? Also, how do you think I'm going to end this? There are still a few nuggets that tie up the last chapter. 
> 
> I already know exactly how I'm ending it, but I'm curious if you've figured it out, yet. LOL


	12. When the ocean meets the sky...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion. Yuuri and Yuri finally resolve their futures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, guys. The end! As I post this, this story sits at 3032 hits. That means I average less than 300 readers per chapter. I don't say that as a bad thing. I say it to identify this story's place on this site. Where other stories are blockbusters, this would be an indie. LOL. It makes me even happier with the readership I was able to attract. From the moment I thought of this, I knew it would seem as weird as hell to most people. I took an unpopular, non-canon pairing, put them in an AU, then altered their species. It made me ask myself, "Is anybody going to read this?" You did! You are few, but you always comment, leave kudos, bookmark, subscribe and so forth. Some of you have been following since I posted chapter one. Thank you! It's been quite a ride, and I'm glad you took it with me.
> 
> PS. I can't believe this crossed 50k words! I honestly didn't think I had enough material for that. WOW!

**_May 1_ **

 

‘I can’t believe this day is finally here,’ Yuuri thought as he adjusted his diving regulator, and then descended. The water had warmed considerably in the last two weeks, so Yuuri had been  practically pacing himself fit, wondering if Yuri was just sitting outside his doorstep. But, since he couldn’t be sure, the night water was dark, and diving season hadn’t officially started yet, he waited. Now, the wait was over.

 

Descending rapidly, he quickly reached thirty feet below sea level. The moment he dropped another ten, he felt a tug, followed by his regulator being removed. He wrestled to get free, and just as he was about to open his mouth in alarm, a pair of lips met his. He knew those lips. His regulator was then replaced, and he was being pulled along at breakneck speed. Having taken this path many times, he knew immediately where he was being led.

 

Moments later, they breached the water surface of their hideout, and Yuri immediately leaped on him, making him fall back onto the rock ledge.

 

“Finally!” Yuri said with a grin, and Yuuri couldn’t stop himself from matching it. For long moments, they took in the sight of one another. They both had dreams of this encounter that would lead to tears when they woke, but now, it was reality.

 

“Your hair has grown long,” Yuuri said, noticing that it veiled them. Considering that it grew a good six inches, he had to conclude that mermen hair grew faster than a human’s.

 

“I haven’t been keeping up with it,” Yuri said as he grabbed a handful, then glared at it. He then protracted his spikes, ready to slash it. Yuuri quickly stopped him.

 

“Leave it; it suits you,” he said with a smile. Yuri, not knowing how to take it, averted his eyes. It was such a Yuri thing to do, and Yuuri had missed him so much. Quickly, Yuuri grabbed him by the hair, pulling him down until their foreheads touched. He just wanted him close, and to breathe the same air once again.

 

‘His body is much firmer,’ Yuuri thought, as they lie chest to chest. Considering Yuri had just swam hundreds of miles, it wasn’t too much of a surprise.

 

“When did you get back?” Yuuri asked, finally letting go.

 

“Ten days ago,” Yuri said, still resting. Then, like a spring, he popped up, eyes bright.

 

“That reminds me! I never got to give you a Christmas present,” he said before grabbing a small satchel that Yuuri had only just noticed.

 

“Here,” he said as he handed Yuuri a larger, tightly-rolled satchel. “I found a freshly dead, basking shark, so I used its hide to make this. I noticed your sample bag was fraying, so this one should hold up better. If you want something to last in water, you need materials that come from the water.”

 

Upon accepting the offered bag, Yuuri was amazed at the quality of the construction. His mom was a master seamstress, and this still trumped her best work.

 

“Thanks!” Yuuri said, before adding, “I have a gift for you, too. Actually, you’ve had a birthday as well, right?”

 

“Yup, I’m now sixteen,” Yuri said with pride, and Yuuri couldn’t help but to mentally laugh at the youthful exuberance at aging.

 

“I got it covered,” he said. “But, I left your gifts on the surface. Sorry.”

 

Yuri just looked at him for a long time. His face was saying, “Mhmm.”

 

“I bet you forgot to buy something,” he said, more amused than angry. Yuuri replied by quirking an eyebrow, and giving a devilish smirk, completely catching Yuri off guard.

 

“Oh, I definitely didn’t forget. I’ll prove it to you. Let’s go to the surface right now,” Yuuri said, grabbing Yuri’s arm and not bothering with his regulator. Frantically, Yuri looked around for the bag he travelled in.

 

“Um, where-” he began.

 

“We don’t need it,” Yuuri cut in, then pulled them both into the water. Yuri was the faster swimmer, so he took over since Yuuri was practically free diving; therefore, he was the first to emerge. Not even ten feet away was a very large boat: roughly thirty-five feet in length, with sails reaching skies over fifty feet high. Terrified, he quickly tried to sink back in the water, but was stopped by Yuuri.

 

“Don’t worry. This girl belongs to me,” he said with a smile. Mouth open and eyes wide, Yuri couldn’t hide his surprise and confusion. Yuuri just laughed and swam over to the boat; Yuri dazedly followed.

 

With no wheelchair in sight, Yuri climbed up Yuuri’s back as he was helped on deck. With arms firmly fastened around his shoulders and tail firmly hugging his waist and leg, Yuuri led them below.

 

“There’s actually more space down here than you’d guess from only looking at the outside,” Yuuri said once he reached the bottom of the steps. “As you can see, there’s a complete stove, a double sink and a fridge. Off the kitchen area, sailors call it a galley, there’s a guest room or cabin. Over there is a bathroom, called a head. Right here is the salon, which apparently seats eight. I don’t know about that; that seems tight. And right there is the main cabin.”

 

As Yuuri spoke, Yuri was carefully surveying from his perch.

 

“It’s basically a two bedroom apartment. It’s a small two bedroom, but I’ve seen smaller back home,” Yuuri added. He then tilted his head to meet Yuri’s gaze.

 

“It’s been a long winter, and I had a lot of time on my hands. We both know there’s no way for me to live in the sea, and you can’t live on land, so I spent weeks trying to come up with a solution. Most of them required more money than I know I’ll ever have; I was at my witts end. But, right when I was about to reach my breaking point, I thought, ‘Maybe we can live _on_ the sea,’” he said. Stunned, Yuri stopped breathing and just gaped at him.

 

“You…” he started, eyebrows pinched in his shock. He then dropped his gaze, emotions playing across his face, before quickly glancing around the boat once more. Then, without a word, he jumped off Yuuri’s back, scaled the stairs, and then dove in the sea.

 

“Yura!” Yuuri called as he followed behind him. Puzzled, he stared at the water trying to figure out what was wrong. Minutes passed, and he finally made up his mind to dive. Before he could, however, Yuri’s head appeared above the water just long enough for him to deposit a large bag on the deck. He was then gone once more.

 

‘What in the world?’ Yuuri thought as he opened the bag. He saw piles of seabooks and different collectables. A moment later, another even larger bag appeared.

 

‘How much stuff does he have?’ Yuuri thought, now severely concerned about the size of the boat. He bought the largest boat he could safely sail alone without arousing suspicion, so it was certainly not a luxury yacht.

 

‘I’m going to have to tell him that this is the last bag,’ he thought.

 

Instead of a bag, however, a very tired and confused Nikolai emerged a moment later. Quickly, both mermen approached the boat. Dutifully, Yuuri helped them on board, then promptly grabbed a broom.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing your grandfather,” he growled in a whisper as he swept dirt that only he could see. Satisfied after a few passes, he ran to grab the old wheelchair.

 

“It’s a little tight in here, and I’m not sure this will be a comfortable fit for you, but here; use this,” he said, quickly showing Nikolai how the controls worked. Fascinated, Nikolai rolled around while Yuuri gave a brief tour. Never had Nikolai been in the human world, so everything interested him. He touched _everything_. It was like having a puppy or toddler in the room. Yuri was so ashamed, but Yuuri found it endearing.

 

“At opposite ends are the two sleeping quarters. You can check them out on your own, if you want,” Yuuri said, and Nikolai just wordlessly wheeled to the guest room, hoping out once the wheelchair couldn’t fit.

 

“I wanted to show him where I would be living. I didn’t know he was going to act like that,” Yuri grumbled, still feeling shame. Yuuri just laughed as he plopped beside him.

 

“I’m glad he likes it. As I mere student, I don’t make much money, so I had to borrow a hefty sum of money from my parents even though this boat is used,” he said, and Yuri looked worried.

 

“How much money?” He asked.

 

“Enough. But, I should be able to pay it back in ten years considering they aren’t charging me interest,” Yuuri said, as Nikolai zoomed by, headed toward the main cabin.

 

“Mrrroww,” they both heard, and looked down to see a lanky Siamese that looked like a smaller version of Anastasia. Yuuri instantly picked it up.

 

“Remember when I said there were two presents? Well, this is the other,” he said as he sat the cat in Yuri’s lap. Yuri instantly began stroking its fur, and received pleased purrs and head rubs in return.

 

“This is one of Anastasia’s kittens. There were three altogether. I selected this one since it was the only one that didn’t hate me and didn’t mind being on a boat. My advisor was so happy to have _converted_ me that he gave him to me for free. Meet Olivier,” Yuuri said, and received a glare.

 

“You did not name my cat that,” Yuri said, shaking his head. “From now on, your name is Czar. Isn’t that right, Czar?” He added, smiling brightly for the cat. Seemingly in heaven, Czar purred hard enough to vibrate, and Yuuri just shook his head in befuddlement.

 

“For the first six weeks of your life, and for the past month, I’ve taken care of you, yet you trade me in the moment you meet him? I see how it is,” Yuuri said.

 

“Mrow,” Czar seemed to say in answer.

 

“He should be about five months old. Where was he the rest of the time?” Yuri asked, confused.

 

“Actually, that’s a funny story,” Yuuri said, laughing before he even started. “Once the kittens were old enough to be safely transported, I sent them back with my advisor. I then went home to Japan for two weeks since I was able to analyze all of the data we collected and write up a rough draft for a second paper.

 

“While in Japan, I watched a documentary on whaling, and the idea to buy a boat hit me. The problem was that I wasn’t experienced. I’ve sailed before, but never as the captain, and certainly never single-handed. So, knowing how cheap my advisor is, I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. I told him I would spend this summer helping him collect data on his personal project since mine is mostly complete, and if he sponsors my sailing classes, I could dive without a crew. Seeing all of the money he could save, he not only paid for the classes, but my equipment, too. I spent all of February and March learning to sail this thing. I’m still not the best at it, but I figure I’ll get better in time.”

 

“Don’t speak as though you’ll be doing it alone. I’ll be here, too. Unlike you humans, we mermen know when bad weather is coming days in advance. I’ll keep us safe,” Yuri said, arrogance permeating his voice. It was so familiar, it made Yuuri smile. It also made him notice something.

 

“Where’s ojiisan? He’s awfully quiet,” Yuuri said, face dropping in confusion. Yuri looked more annoyed.

 

Without saying another word, both got up to investigate.

 

“Ojiisan?” Yuuri called softly as he pushed the door to the main cabin open. There lying on his bed was Nikolai in deep sleep.

 

“Give me a break,” Yuri growled as he slapped his forehand with his hand. Yuuri just laughed.

 

He then noticed that Nikolai was breathing very deeply. If anyone had guessed, they would have thought he had just finished a marathon and was trying to replenish his air supply. Somehow, he was able to hide it well while awake, but sleep revealed just how unkind the sea was to the older merman. He was severely oxygen deprived, and now exposed to the surface air, his body was trying to hoard as much of it as possible.

 

“You know, I had planned on that being our room, but now that I’m looking at him, I think he’s bigger than both of us combined. I think he should keep it, and we can take the guess room, ne?” Yuuri said, a bit absentmindedly as he watched the violent, but rhythmic pattern of Nikolai’s chest rising and falling. Yuri immediately whipped around to look at him, face openly stunned. Pulling his eyes away, Yuuri met his gaze.

 

“I remember you said that mermen die from oxygen deprivation, and it just seemed unfair considering it’s everywhere up here. So I figured your grandfather could come to the surface too, considering I have two cabins on here,” Yuuri said. His thoughts then caught up with him, and his face lost its assuredness.

 

“I mean, if he wants to. I guess it was kind of presumptuous for me to assume. Plus, we don’t even know if it’s just oxygen deprivation. Maybe you guys have shorter telomeres, or some other factor I’m not considering altogether causes it, then-” he added, but was cut off by Yuri leaping into his arms, and knocking then both onto the settee. With arms wrapped tightly around Yuuri’s neck, Yuri squeezed to nearly the point of pain.

 

“I was so worried,” he said, voice muffled from his face being tucked into Yuuri’s neck. “He always says that he’s fine, but I can tell he’s starting to change. He’s only in his mid sixties, but he’s big, and that stresses the body more. I thought… thank you.”

 

Hearing his words, Yuuri pulled him into a tighter hug. He only let go once the flood of moisture pooling against his neck stopped growing.

 

“Now, I feel a bit guilty,” Yuuri said as Yuri fiercely cleared his face of all tears. “My reason for wanting ojiisan to stay wasn’t entirely altruistic. You see, with him gone, I’d have to deal with you all alone, and that’s frightening! I can’t do it. I need ojiisan,” he added. Yuri immediately slapped the top of his head.

 

“See!” Yuuri said as he rubbed it, and they both laughed. Even once they went silent, they basked in the atmosphere of their new beginning. It was a path neither had ever considered in any simulation of their futures, together or apart, and that left them with a world of unknowns, good and bad.

 

“Yura, this is not going to be easy,” Yuuri said after a while.

 

“If we’re ever caught…” he started, then let out a big sigh. “We can’t get caught. This will go far beyond experimentation. If humans ever find out that there are sentient creatures of exceeding intelligence secretly living among them, there will be an international crisis. There would be world peace because the entire human race would band together to eliminate the supposed threat, and I, the person who knew and didn’t share would be labeled a traitor and public enemy number one. It’s not uncommon for us to torture individuals to get information out of them. That’s why I’ve decided to never tell my family about your existence.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t tell my dad anyway because if he gets drunk, he’ll spill the beans. My mom doesn’t even have to be drunk. She’ll mention it over coffee. Mari… Mari wouldn’t tell. In fact, she’d support us, just as she’s always supported me since we were kids. But, I won’t let her this time. I won’t put her in that kind of danger. This is my fight, our fight,” he added, looking Yuri straight into his eyes. Yuri looked haunted.

 

“Hey, it’s not like it’s any safer on your end, right? You knew what was at stake, yet you were still willing to try. Don’t you think it’s my turn to lay it on the line?” Yuuri stated, more than asked, before pressing their foreheads together briefly as he pressed a kiss to Yuri’s lips.

 

When he pulled back, he saw that Yuri looked a bit guilty. Yuuri tried to read him, but Yuri was a master at looking at him without looking at him.

 

“There’s one other person that knows about us,” Yuri finally said, making Yuuri’s eyes widen.

 

“Don’t worry, he won’t tell! That guy could discover the meaning of life and keep it a secret,” he added.

 

“I’m confused. Who is he?” Yuuri asked. He knew that Yuri wasn’t close to anyone, so he wasn’t understanding that level of trust.

 

“His name is Otabek. We used to be friends before my parents died. We played together every winter when all of the groups migrated to the center. After the incident, I went my own way and he went his. We still saw each other over the winters, but we had different lives,” Yuri said casually. He then paused for a minute, and his eyes revealed torment.

 

“This winter was different though. Everything felt different. I was different,” he added. Yuuri didn’t need any further explanation; he was the same. For once, he wasn’t just alone, but lonely. It’s what drove him to run back to Hasetsu and not just coexist with his family, but _be_ with his family.

 

“Otabek must have sensed it, because he approached me,” Yuri continued, before letting out a laugh. “He looked right at my locket, and said, ‘Who’s the human?’”

 

“He knew?!” Yuuri exclaimed, and Yuri just shook his head in annoyance at it all.

 

“I tried to deny it, but apparently, humans have longer, sparser eyelashes than a merman,” Yuri stated, and Yuuri’s face drew up. Upon inspecting Yuri’s face, he realized that his eyelashes weren’t even half the length of a normal human’s and they were _thick_.

 

“How on Earth did he notice that?” He asked, now confused in multiple ways.

 

“He’s Otabek,” Yuri said simply, just as annoyed.

 

“Anyway, after he noticed that, I didn’t see any point in hiding it anymore. At first he was a bit weirded out by it, but once he realized that sex was possible, he was cool with it. It’s funny how that’s always the deal breaker for people,” he added, and Yuuri was practically tripping over his tongue trying to speak.

 

“You even shared that?!” He finally got out.

 

“Oh, come on! Do you have any idea how many fables have been written about having sex with a human? Now, I’m the only guy who has actually done it. I had to tell! Speaking of which, it’s been months,” Yuri said, and Yuuri feverously placed his hands over his mouth.

 

“Would you shut up before you wake him up?” He whispered in anger as he stared at the door where Nikolai was resting. Unperturbed, Yuri leaned in to kiss his neck.

 

“Grandpa sleeps like the dead. It’s all good,” he mumbled.

 

“It most certainly is not. He’s right there, Yura. He’s right there,” Yuuri said as he avoided.

 

“Besides, there’s no time for that right now. We have work to do,” he added, and Yuri leaned back, curiosity piqued.

 

“I need to teach you how to sail. A majority of the time it will be me, but just in case there is danger, I want you to know how to handle this. I’m going to also need your help during the field season, seeing as how I bartered away my crew in exchange for learning how to operate this boat,” Yuuri said.

 

“Done,” Yuri stated, plainly.

 

“After that, I’m going to start applying to PhD programs. If I truly want to conduct my own research full time, that’s essential. In addition to Russian and Japanese, I also speak English. It is compulsory in Japan, and because we got a lot of tourist at our hotspring, Mari and I had to speak it, because our parents couldn’t. Now, it’s going to come in handy. It’ll allow me to apply for programs in the British Isles, Australia, New Zealand and even America. I plan to sail this boat to wherever we go, so we’re going to get that vacation after all. Are you down?” Yuuri asked.

 

“Hell yeah, let’s do this!” Yuri grinned.

 

**END**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, that's it! If you've never commented before, here's your chance! To read this story in it's entirety, you had to spend a good 3-4 hours on it. Now that the ride is over, what do you think? I'm dying to know. Please ask any and all questions you have. I'll answer as best as I can!
> 
> Oh yeah, here is the boat Yuuri bought. I didn't pull it out of my ass. Like everything in this story, I researched boats for hours to select one. SMH. (Why can't I just make up stuff!)
> 
> http://www.sailplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/C355BrochureFNL3-4.pdf
> 
> **Editorial**
> 
> I always like to post these at the end of my stories, especially if they are multi-chaptered. I get so many questions and read so many comments that make me want to respond, but I never can because I don't want to give anything away. Now, I can speak!
> 
> **_Why did I go with this ending?_**
> 
> This was the only way I could see ending this, honestly. I had quite a few readers mention turning one of them into the other species, but that was never an option for me. I have two reasons why. One, when I tag, I do it with purpose. In fact, I'm extremely judgmental about what I chose to read because my time is so limited, so I look for any indication I may not like the story. Tags are a good indication. Some people list a hundred tags with many of them being excess that adds nothing to the description, or reveal too much of the plot. That indicates that that is how the author writes, so I often move on for the sake of time. Tagging as though I am trying to attract myself with a story, I am very meticulous about how I do it. I order them from most to least important, and only put the most essential ones. If you look at this story's tags, I list sci-fi, then fantasy. That's because this story was always more science fiction than anything. The only fantasy element was the creation of the mermen. I looked at it like, "What if we discovered mermen living among us?" It wouldn't change the other laws of the universe. We wouldn't start floating, or have magical powers. We would just go, "Damn, how did we miss that?" With that thought in mind, I kept the same theme in this world. 
> 
> Two, I felt it would be a disservice to the love and acceptance shared between them. If you love a person, be with them as they are. If this was a story focused on race or sex, people would be furious if I changed either of those for a relationship. Hell, I was mad at the Little Mermaid when I first saw it at five. I saw the end and thought, 'She's just going to leave her father and friends for a guy? What if it doesn't work out?'
> 
> **_Why did I design the mermen the way I did?_**
> 
> I often see people write them as though they are just humans with tails. In this story, I wanted it to be right in your face that, "No, this is not a human." If I'm going to write interspecies, then I'm going to go all out. I wanted it to be somewhat uncomfortable at times, which brings me to the dick. ^_^ I totally did that on purpose. I could have easily designed it to be more human like, but I despise the whole uke/seme or dom/sub thing that permeate M/M stories. I have plenty of LGBT people in my life, and that's not what's it's about, so I wanted to completely take it off the table. With an uncontrollable dick and no proper anus, they had to do something else entirely. LOL. I more so wanted to focus on the emotions involved vs the act. There are far better sex writers on this site than me, so I felt no need to compete. My goal was to make their relationship a bit cringeworthy, yet still have you rooting for them in the end. I hope like hell I pulled that off.
> 
> **_Plausibility of this ending_**
> 
> Honestly, I think they can make it. Humans are very knowledgeable, but we do not know everything. I'm sure there is a whole lot going on that would rock the globe so to speak, but we may never find out. In my mind, this wasn't a happy ending. I believe it's on the happy side of the spectrum, but because there is realism, there are compromises that are negative, i.e. never sharing their relationship with loved ones, living nearly in exile, etc. A "happy" ending would be for our species to pull our heads out of our asses, and let others live. But, that's not the human way, damn it! ^_~


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